


Harem Hymns: Fate's Fanfare

by orphan_account



Series: Harem Hymns [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: A bit of dubcon, Eventual Smut, Harems, Multi, There is I swear, harem au, it's not called harem hymns for nothing, mentions of dan gruchy, mentions of gus sorola, mentions of joel heyman - Freeform, mentions of matt hullum - Freeform, some underage i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 19:38:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the land of Austin there is the large kingdom known as Caponfang, ruled by its benevolent and caring king, Burnie. Gavin is a young lad captured from his homeland and sold into slavery. Too small and weak to fight in the gladiator tournaments or work a labor slave, his fate is to learn the carnal arts. Thankfully the kind and newly appointed King of the land he's been sold into finds him before he is sold off to be trained and decides to buy him for the kingdom and teach him in a much gentler and kinder way than the trainers would. Gavin, terrified so far from home and entirely reluctant, fights nearly every step of the way but eventually Burnie shows him not everything is bad about this turn of fate.</p><p>UPDATE: Story has been split into a 4 part series. See chapter 8 notes for details.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Harem AU Headcanons](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/26536) by Tiptoeoh. 



> I have found myself fascinated with the headcanons of tiptoeoh on tumblr but otherwise can't find a fully written fic. So with the blessing of the brainmother, I have taken it upon myself. Hopefully it does these amazing headcanons justice because wowee what an amazing writer is tiptoeoh? So amazing! This is a relatively short chapter but I like backstories and I couldn't miss the opportunity to write in some distraught Gavin. It's my specialty (which may or may not be a problem later on *wink wonk*). So hopefully you'll all enjoy! Lemme know!
> 
> UPDATE: Gav is speaking Welsh because I'm too lazy to create an entirely different language gomen

Caponfang was a very large city in the kingdom of Austin. It was a large continent with 4 holds that each took about five days to get to from the center capital. The king, Burnie Burns, who lived in the capital, was a kind king, but he was under much stress. He was young for a king but had been appointed after the death of the previous ruler who had left no heir. He had taken the offer humbly and had set out to make Austin a much better place. When he could find the time, he would even visit the slums and poorer villages and take note of what was needed to make living easier for those who couldn’t really afford it. Though he had come from noble blood, he had a great deal of empathy and a large protectiveness of his people.  
  
It was a dreary day as the king walked through his city with his minimal guard of three knights. It was the kind of day where you’d expect everyone to be lazy and slow and not do much of anything in anticipation of rain. It was overcast and small droplets would fall from the sky and splash into the mud and onto the civilians that walked out of the poorly made huts that were barely sheltered just under the walls of the third district; the slums district.

Despite living in poverty, the people were relatively happy for living under a chronically forgetful monarchy. Said monarch was beloved among the entire kingdom and his stress showed through. His people understood.

King Burnie walked slowly through the slums, not caring about his boots or the way his cloak dragged the muddy ground. He was too busy taking stock of the brittle buildings and poor patchwork to this part of town. He supposed every kingdom had their poor districts but nobody should have had to live this way.

The people smiled as he walked by and he smiled back, stopping to talk to a few of the shopkeepers who were barely making ends meet. Children ran across the worn cobblestone and played with each other and up the road a ways near one of the towers, a slave trader was untying his mule which pulled a large wagon with a cage atop it. Burnie ended his conversation and decided to walk the direction of the trader.

As he approached the trader, who was a strapping young man, obviously trained in the ways of the hunt, the man smiled and bowed in respect.

“My liege.” He said, “Anything I can do for you today?”

The king smiled and held up a hand to dismiss the bow, “I’m just here on informal business. I like to keep stock of how the people are doing. Is there anything in particular you need from _me_?”

The trader straightened and chuckled hard once, “Some business would be nice. Caught a few unattended kids out by the Britley Islands. Only sold one to the gladiator rings yesterday. The others except this one are all at the bathhouse.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and gestured to the caged wagon.

Burnie walked over to the cage, “Why didn’t this one go?”

“He’s been trying to escape since I sold that one yesterday. They both put up a fight when I tried to pull them away from each other but I managed to get them apart and handed the other one to his new owners. This one’s been a real pain, though, so I locked him in there and I was just getting ready to take him to the trainers early. They’ll sort him out right quick.”

The king peered into the caged wagon and looked harder at the boy who was curled into the farthest corner, crying with his face buried in his knees and trembling from the cold. He couldn’t have been older than thirteen. He had long sandy –colored hair that draped over his shoulders and his clothes were tattered and worn down rags, loosely clinging to his form. He looked emaciated, but then the Britley islands were a good two weeks away and Burnie knew that the traders only gave their captives water on the trek home. His frame was thin and lanky; no good for the arena or the fields. The only place he might be used was in the slave brothels and even then he wouldn’t last very long. The boy was scared and alone and, if what the trader had said meant anything, he had just lost his best friend or brother.

Burnie felt his stomach twist with that familiar empathy that was probably going to be the death of him one day and looked to the trader, “You said you needed business right?”

“Yes, sir. I did.” The trader responded, wiping his hands off on his tunic with a slightly confused look.

“I’ll buy this one. I’ll take him off your hands today.”

The other man spluttered, “But, sir, there’s many better ones you could buy. Trained and-…”

“I want this one.” Burnie held his ground.

The man backed down a bit, “At least let me get him trained first, sir.”

“It’s alright. I can use him. He was going to the brothel trainers right?”

“Yes,sir, but-…”

“We don’t have many harlots in the castle. We could use one more. I’ll take him.” He pulled out a handful of gold coins and handed them to the other man who spluttered in disbelief before gesturing for one of his guard to grab the boy.

When the cage was opened, the boy’s head snapped up and he scrambled to the back wall of the cage to get as far away from the knight as possible, nearly hyperventilating as he tried to push himself through the wall and escape.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, boy.” The knight nearly growled, climbing into the cage and grabbing the boy around the wrist.

Screaming, the boy kicked and pulled at the hand as he was pulled from the cage and yanked upright. His eyes were wild and terrified, like a trapped animal and he tried to drop to his knees to keep them from moving him, but he was too short for it to be effective. Choked sobs escaped him as he clawed at his own wrist in an effort to escape.

“Are you sure you want this one, sir?” The trader asked incredulously.

Burnie only nodded as he stepped forward and grabbed the boy by the jaw, forcing him to look at him. He waited until a subtle flash of recognition of his status passed through the boy’s eyes. Then he spoke in a soft tone, “What’s your name?”

When he didn’t answer right away, the knight who had him by the arm shook him roughly, “Answer your king.”

The boy let out a cry at the rough treatment before blurting out his name in an effort to appease the knight, “Gavin! Fy enw i yw Gavin!”

The king noted the different language but nodded nonetheless, understanding the dialect. At least the boy had the exotic factor to protect him if anything, “Gavin, you’re my slave now. I bought you and you’re coming home with me.”

The boy trembled and tears flowed down his dirt streaked face, his voice a subtle whine, “Dw i eisiau mynd adref.”

Burnie smiled almost apologetically and released the boy’s jaw watching as the knight dropped his arm. He fell to his knees in the mud, covering his eyes with his hands and crying, his shoulders shaking with grief.  The king took the leather collar and leash and kneeled down to fasten it around the boy’s neck. He was met with no resistance. It seemed the fight had drained entirely out of him leaving him this sobbing mess. The leash tied through the metal hoop in the front of the collar and he gave it to one of the knights, “Let’s head back.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's first year as Burnie's concubine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me forever to get this thing out. He's still speaking Welsh. Still no sex yet. Sexy things come next chapter. Cross my heart!  
> Please let me know what you think :)

Walking into the King’s castle and hearing the large metal doors slam shut with grim finality was enough to make the weight of the situation crash down on the small boy. Gavin’s legs buckled beneath him as his breath escaped his lungs in a hasty rush of oxygen. The realization that he was destined for a life of being used and abused in ways he never wanted was too much and he curled in on himself against the marble floor to escape the reality, releasing a defeated wail. Add all this to the fact that he had just lost his best friend who was probably going to die gruesomely in the gladiator arena and it was just too much to bear.

The king’s guards turned, preparing to beat the boy into movement but said king only turned to them and held up his hand to stop them. He knelt down in front of the boy and put a hand on his shoulder which was jerked away, “Listen, kid. You’ve been sold into this life. It’s best if you don’t try to fight it. Just… Just do what you’re told and you’ll be fine, alright? No one wants to hurt you.” There wasn’t a response except for the shuddering of shoulders beneath his palm. He stood with a sigh and turned back to his guards, “Don’t hurt him. Just take him to get his collar, get him cleaned up, and bring him to my chambers after.”

“Yes, highness.” came the chorused reply before the royal walked off and the guards grabbed the boy by the shoulders, lifting his now limp and dejected form from the ground and carrying him to the royal blacksmith.

The blacksmith was a large, gruff looking man with a strong build and a full beard. He pounded away at some superheated metal before looking up at the newcomers, “This the new brat?” At the nod of the guards he smiled widely and wiped the sweat from his brow on his dirty apron, “Been expectin’ ya. Got the new collar all sorted out. Solid gold. The king’ll be pleased.”

One of the guards shoved Gavin towards the man, “Just get it over with. We have other places to take him before the king breaks him in.”

The blacksmith gave a big laugh from deep in his belly and caught the boy with one hand that could easily flatten him with any effort, “Our king’s gonna make a right whore out of you, I bet. You get this one cleaned up and he’ll be the envy o’ the nobles, I’d put money on it.” The hand on Gavin’s shoulder tightened and directed him and, with little else to be done, he followed until he was pushed to his knees in front of an anvil and then bent over it so that his face was laying upon the thick metal.

Gavin didn’t dare try to run in this place. There were weapons at every corner and the man behind him would surely pummel him while trying to stop him. That was too big of a risk, so he closed his eyes tightly and shuddered against the metal beneath him. Something soft slid around his neck and then tightened. It wasn’t uncomfortably tight, the man was able to fit one finger beneath it which was roughly the size of two normal fingers, and it was plush against his throat anyway, only hinting at the hardness just beyond the silky threads. One of his hands rose up to brush against this new object and felt the cool metal.

“The king only wants the best for his pleasure slaves.” The blacksmith commented, noticing the confusion on the boy’s face, “One o’ the few who will see to your comfort as well. ‘Sides… green stains on your whore’s neck aren’t very flattering.” Gavin felt his hair being pulled aside and sucked in a sharp breath at something that was suddenly very hot near his ear, “Easy now. No jerkin’. I don’t wanna burn ya. Just gonna seal this up real fast.” And the hot object was pressed against the metal at his neck. He could feel the heat causing his neck to begin to sweat and he tried to stifle the panic, barely succeeding in holding his breath before the source of heat was pulled away and cold water was poured onto his head, causing him to gasp and jerk up, “There ya are. New collar ‘n all.”

Gavin panted as he watched the blacksmith walk over to a wall and pull down a golden chain set aside from the many other chains that hung against the cobblestone wall. He returned, and threaded it through a hoop at the front of the collar, clipping it into place.

“Heard your original collar and leash was made o’ leather so I upped the ante a bit. You’re a King’s toy now. You’re way more valuable than a leatherback.” He handed the chain to one of the guards, “Have fun with his majesty!”

The guards pulled on the chain and Gavin fell forward off of the anvil before scrambling to his feet and tentatively following the guards out of the blacksmith’s shop. The next stop was the servants’ bathing chamber. Several handmaidens were waiting for him, quiet and reserved but prepared to make him into the most desirable item of the king.

Gavin felt the lump in his throat return and wrapped his arms around himself loosely, shaking as that same realization crashed the over him like a wave again.

Almost immediately, the handmaidens pulled him further into the bathing room and tugged at the tattered rags that hung loosely on his body. Tears were streaming down his face and he only flinched when they cut off the rags and shoved him into the small pool of warm water. He was pushed and pulled and dunked under the water and scrubbed until he thought he might bleed but he never said anything, only hushed cries escaping him.

When they pulled him from the water, a surge of panic rode through him at the sight of scissors. He jerked his wrist out of one of the maidens hands and made a rush for the door, leaving the maidens to scream for guards. Just as he was about to burst through the intricate archway into a fate he hadn’t yet thought about, a guard member stepped into his path. He ran straight into the large muscles and chainmail chest of the man. The guard didn’t move an inch but Gavin was thrown onto the ground on his back, looking up in fear and cowering at the stern expression.

He swallowed and flinched when the man reached forward and grabbed him by the arm, large fingers gripping tight enough to leave at least a slight bruise on his tanned skin. He was jerked to his feet and then shoved into the arms of the frustrated handmaidens who sat him on a stool and held him there by keeping their hands on his arms and legs, one of them brandishing the scissors and beginning to run her fingers through his long, sandy-colored hair to untangle it.

And then he heard the first snip of the scissors and felt the cut strands fall over his shoulders. A choked sob escaped him at the loss. Not because he was losing his hair, but rather because he was losing a part of himself. Each strand of hair that was cut from him was just a reminder that his old life was over. Everything was changing and he was being forced to change with it.

Those tears streamed steadily but he stopped struggling, staring ahead in misery as the ladies cooed softly to him in a language he could barely understand. By the time they were done, his hair was too short to run his fingers through. He didn’t like how light it made him feel. He didn’t want the constant reminder. Now it was impossible to ignore or pretend otherwise.

The maidens’ hands were gentle and soft as they pulled him from the stool and slipped a navy blue wrap around his waist. The cool silk made his skin burn. He hated it. Mewling pathetically with some of the few words he actually knew, he tried to put up a fight, “Please. No. Please.” He move to tug the pants off but the hands smacked his away.

He whimpered and tucked his wrists close to his chest, shying away from the older ladies as they moved closer with a box full of gold jewelry. One chirped at him to stay still and the others started to place them on various parts of his body. The cool metal irritated but he did as they asked and before he knew it, they were done with him.

The guard from before returned and grabbed his leash, yanking on it and pulling him from the stool harshly, causing him to fall to his hands and knees to keep from falling face-first into the floor.

“Get up, whore.”

The word would have made him flinch had he been able to understand it. As it was, he could only scramble to his feet as the guard started walking off impatiently, leash in hand, fully prepared to drag the Brit otherwise. Gavin had a hard time keeping up, stumbling over his own feet for a moment before falling in step with the man.

He was scared and sniffling, trembling as he moved but his curiosity forced his mouth to move and ask the obvious question, his voice timid and shy, “Ble ni'n mynd ydyn?”

The only response was a loud crack and the sudden pain that erupted in his skull. Gavin opened his eyes to find himself on the ground and a painful burn on his cheek where the guard had just backhanded him. His head began to throb in pain and he choked out a cry of agony, raising a hand to cover the spot as if it would stop the pain. What more could he do but cry and curl in on himself? He was only 13 years old and he had never been struck so forcefully in his life.

The guard towered over him with a disgusted snarl, “That language is illegal here. Don’t let me catch you speaking it again or I’ll report you.”

The words all jumbled in Gavin’s head. He didn’t understand but they had to be important. He had to know. There had to be some kind of way to interpret this foreign language, “Nid wyf yn deall-...”

The guard suddenly grabbed his neck and picked him up only to roughly shove him back against the ground, eliciting another sharp yelp from the boy, “What did I just say?”

“Hey!”

The guard suddenly stepped away and Gavin was grateful as he was dropped to the ground, grabbing at his head to try and stop the pounding.

“M-my liege!” The guard stammered.

There were heavy boot steps and then silence before an authoritative voice spoke, “Are you damaging my property?”

“N-no, sir. It was punishment. He spoke out of turn and-...”

“Punishments are meant to be dealt by the masters and the handlers. Not the help.” The other man shot back.

“I understand, sir. But my duties as a guard call for punishment when the outlawed language is spoken. I was only following orders.”

More silence followed and then, “That language is all he probably knows. I’m going to let you off with a warning and relieve you of your duties for tonight. For every bruise I find on my property, I’m going to remove a days worth of your wages.”

“But, sir! I have three children.”

“I’ll add more days if I have to. Take your leave while you can.”

The guard scampered off and left the King to look down at his slave with something akin to pity. The boy was still whimpering on the marble floor.

Without a second thought, Burnie knelt down and picked him up, surprised when he gave no struggle, and walked to his own quarters and then through the archway in the corner to the harem’s quarters. The room was large and extravagant; elegant decorations, intricate designs, and wispy curtains tossed over railings and high beams. Candles and incense burned and the sconces on the walls gave a low flicker. The ground was entirely made of plush throw pillows and blankets, soft enough to sink into  and against the far wall was a fountain that flowed quietly into a rectangular, sunken pool. There were no individual rooms, just this one large room to house the expected harem, but Burnie had a feeling that the boy was going to be the only one who used it. He would get lonely very quickly and that wouldn’t do. The King made a mental note to send for a handful of young girls to keep the boy company as he set him down in the center of the room.

It seemed the stress of the day had gotten to the Brit as he could barely hold his eyes open, completely unaware and uncaring as to where he was and who was with him. Burnie figured now was as good a time as any to call for the royal physician. Hopefully the boy could remain asleep while he was being examined.

* * *

 

Gavin slowly woke to the sound of murmured voices not far from him. At first they sounded familiar, like his parents’ muffled whispers as they spoke by the fireplace in their home. It only took a moment before he realized that the language was wrong and the floor was way too comfortable to be the hard wooden slabs that he was used to sleeping on. Something wasn’t right.

He shivered a little and was vaguely aware that he was bare and lying upon soft cushions that he seemed to sink into but, most prominently, he was aware of cool fingers whispering over his skin, applying slight pressure here and there as they moved up his legs.

Eyes fluttering open tiredly, he let out a soft groan of confusion and exhaustion, bringing his hands up to rub the sleep from his face.

“He’s awake…” He heard a voice say, but damn it all if he understood it.

Another hand ran through his hair gently and he couldn’t help but admit that it felt nice. Well… the hand more brushed along his scalp since his hair was gone but…

Gavin’s eyes snapped open and his breathing stopped as the memories flooded back. A quick look around revealed the King and another man with no hair wearing a physicians robe. The King’s hand was the one on his head and the physician’s hands were frozen on the crease of his hips as they watched him warily.

It was only a moment before Gavin yelped, and jerked away, backing up on his elbows and grabbing his discarded wrap to cover himself as he watched the two men with trembling form and terrified eyes. His heart pounded loudly in his ears.

The physician moved to grab for him again but the King stopped him, holding out a large hand, “Leave him be, Shannon. Just… tell me based off of what you’ve learned already.”

The physician, Shannon, stood and dusted off his robes before bowing to the King, “Your highness, I see no physical injury besides the minor contusions from the rough treatment of slave handling. He is very malnourished though. I suggest you feed him. He won’t be able to handle much without energy or muscle mass. He is small yet.”

Burnie nodded, “Thank you, Shannon. You’re dismissed.”

“May I make a diagnoses about  _your_  health, sir? In the interest of your future well being?”

The King closed his eyes and sighed loudly, “You may not.”

“Yes, sir.” Shannon then stepped away and walked out of the harem quarters, leaving the King with his concubine.

Gavin watched the other man carefully, still shaking in his spot. When gray-blue eyes slowly turned towards him, he felt a sudden rush of debilitating panic chase up his spine like a jolt of electricity. The reminder of exactly why he was bought and what he was meant to do had him shrinking and scrambling away from that gaze pitifully until he had nowhere left to go.

Burnie frowned and moved closer to him, a hand slightly extended, but froze when the boy shrieked and covered his head in fright as if expecting to be grabbed or hit.

“No, no, no…” the King cooed softly, his own awkward panic setting in though much more tame, “I’m not going to hurt you. Shhh…” He took another step, not really aware of how he towered intimidatingly over the boy as he tried to recall the little he knew of the Britley language, “Its okay. Ni fyddaf yn brifo eich. Shh… It’ll be okay…”

Gavin didn’t seem to realize the effort as choked sobs escaped his throat. He curled into a tight ball in Burnie’s shadow and cried, cinching his eyes shut as if to escape a nightmare.

The King only wanted the boy to see reason so he knelt down and placed a large hand on the Brit’s shoulder only to receive a spastic flinch in response and a sharp whimper, causing him to pull back. The kid was absolutely terrified… and for good reason. Still, Burnie took pride in caring for his slaves when he knew many of the aristocrats in the court didn’t. Biting his lip in thought, he sighed heavily and reached forward, grabbing the boy’s jaw and forcing him to look at him, “Look at me. Edrych.”

Sea-green eyes blinked back tears but looked upon the King warily, in fear of punishment. Burnie pointed to the curtained archway that led to his chamber, “Don’t try to escape. Peidiwch â cheisio gadael. That’s my room. Fy ystafell. Deall?”

More tears fell but the crying had died off in favor of listening to his native tongue. Eyes squeezing shut, the boy nodded and the King released his grip.

“I’ll send for some food for you. Then you can rest.”

Gavin’s interest, though wary, piqued highly.  _Food?_  He knew that word.

At the mention, his stomach took the opportunity to remind him of its very empty state. A different whimper escaped him as he watched the King leave the harem quarters. Hunger coiled tightly in his belly and he wasn’t sure if he could survive if this was some cruel joke and he really wasn’t getting food at all.

He didn’t have to wait very long. Not an hour later, five beautiful women no older than 27 walked in carrying plates and bowls and pitchers and baskets filled with fresh and juicy fruits, succulent meats, wine, and rolls.

He uncurled at the sight, mouth already watering and stomach growling loudly as he stared at them. They gave him soft and kind smiles so he allowed it when they circled him and set down the food.

He didn’t hesitate to pounce, attacking the meats first and sinking starved fangs into hot chicken and tender steaks. He was so enraptured by eating that he didn’t question it when the girls joined him, sitting in a loose formation around him and partaking in some fruit and wine. Some of them even stroked his back and brushed against his scalp, wiping at his with cloth napkins when he gave them an opening.

He was so far beyond caring. They were obviously also part of the King’s serfdom by their clothing, which he flushed to admit was much more modest than his. Besides, they brought him food and were giving him pleasant touches and caresses that made some form of safety return to his terror-addled brain.

“Slow down!” One with dark hair chided gently with a soft giggle, “You’re going to choke!”

“He can’t understand you.” Another responded. She had lighter hair, “You have to show him.” She caught his wrist on the way to his mouth, ignoring his whine of protest. She made sure her eyes were locked with his before she spoke again, “Slow.” She gently controlled the movement of his hand back to his mouth and smiled brightly as he slowly took a bite of the mutton in his fingers, eyes wide and still locked on hers, “There you go! Good job!”

He flushed a bit, recognizing the praise, but got with the program, significantly slowing his consumption.

It took less than an hour until he was full and bloated and nearly in a food coma, lying on his side on the cushions with his head in the lap of one of the ladies while she ran her nails along his scalp. He liked these girls. They were nice even if he couldn’t understand them most of the time.

“His majesty said your name was Gavin.” The one stroking his hair said softly. She was the blonde one who had shown him to eat slower earlier, “My name’s Barbara.” She gestured to herself, “That’s Arryn.” She pointed to the dark-haired girl, “Kara.” She moved her finger to point as another fair-haired girl who was munching on a strawberry, “Ashley. The King likes her a lot.” She continued her gesture to a dirty-blonde-haired lady who was leaning back against the cushions with a small smile, “And that’s Holly. She’s kind of shy.” and the gesture ended with the final girl who had a head of dark hair.

Gavin blinked very slowly, in a somewhat blissfully sated state before raising his finger and pointing at them in turn, “Barbara, Arryn, Kara, Ashley, Holly…” he pointed back at himself, “Gavin.”

Arryn smiled widely, “That’s right! I knew you could understand us at least a little.”

He frowned in response and shifted slightly, shivering a bit as the temperature dropped in the room with the change in the time. Kara moved for a moment, disappearing from his line of sight before returning with a blanket and draping it over him. It was a thick and soft material and he was grateful for it. “Diolch…” he mumbled.

A finger slid softly behind his ear and he shuddered, not really knowing why but finding the sensation more than pleasant. In a few heartbeats, his eyes were closing and he was all but dead to the world, sleeping the sleep of the ancients.

When Burnie walked in, the girls had all curled around the boy, sleeping soundly with gentle smiles. His concubine still seemed troubled even in sleep but there was more color to his face. Food did wonders for the body. Bowls and pitchers were sat on the marble squares around the sunken pool at the far edge of the room. He found it odd that the handmaidens didn’t immediately send them to the kitchens to be washed, but then he looked back to the cluster of bodies and realized making his new serf more comfortable was first priority and silently thanked them for realizing that. So he let them sleep and returned to his own chamber alone for the evening.

In the morning, the maidens were the first to wake, gently trying to rouse the tired boy with soft caresses and light words whispered by his ear. It was a sensual way to wake but he was so lethargic and loose and still full that even when he blearily opened his eyes, he only groaned, unable to move.

“Come on, Gav.” Kara stroked his scalp lightly.

“Time to wake up, sleeping beauty.” Barbara was at his ear, lips moving softly against the shell before she nuzzled at his cheek.

He let out another groggy sound before he felt himself being pulled up by his arms and walked carefully to the pool of water. The dishes had all disappeared, taken away by the other three girls but he didn’t seem to notice as Barbara and Kara, removed his waist wrap and jewels and gently settled him into the pool, beginning to scrub at his skin lightly with a soft washcloth.

He hummed at the pleasantly warm water, almost falling back to sleep until he was suddenly pulled up again and dried off. When a towel was tousling his hair, he began to wake up more and blinked slowly as Kara placed the towel around his shoulders when she was done. Realizing his nude state, he blushed brightly and wrapped the towel around himself to retain some form of dignity and modesty. The girls, the others having returned with breakfast baskets full of fruits and breads and jams, only smiled at him and handed him some silks to donn as his clothing for the day.

He took one look at the dark purple wrap and jewels and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Why did he have to wear such provocative clothing? Couldn’t he just have normal clothes. Was it really necessary to wear such things? It hardly left anything to the imagination.

Gavin shook his head and stepped back.

The girls exchanged glances before Arryn spoke, “The King will be cross with you if you don’t wear your clothes.”

That only seemed to frustrate the boy, not understanding the dialect, and his brows drew together in confusion, “No. Nid wyf am i.”

The girls began to become frustrated too, stepping closer to him, but his panic began to spike at the advancement and his eyes widened, backing up into a wall, almost cowering from them.

They backed off a bit then, halting their movement.

“You can’t be naked.” Barbara stated, “That would cause chaos. If his highness wants to show you off, you could get hurt.”

Gavin pulled at his collar in nervousness  and swallowed, looking away from them.

“Fine then.” Ashley set her clothing down on the ground with a huff, “No food until you get dressed. Come on ladies.”

The other girls followed her lead, moving over to the food and starting to eat with their noses in the air.

 _No food?_  But… But…

Gavin spluttered and watched as they ate the juicy fruits and flaunted the food at him. His stomach growled loudly in protest and it was all the incentive he needed to pick up the garments and jewels and donn them as fast as he could before slinking over to them, head hung low and apologetic, “M-m-mae'n ddrwg gen. Please. Food.” His voice was pitiful sounding and worked to his advantage.

Ashley took one look at him before smiling and scooting over to allow him between her and Barbara, “There. Was that so hard?”

Gavin frowned but sat down when she gestured to the spot beside her. He grabbed for an apple and savored the crisp sound and sweet taste as the juice spilled out the sides of his mouth and covered his fingers in a sticky mess. More fingers were brushing at his short hair and napkins were there to wipe the juice away and he found contentment in sitting here for a little while. No one had come to turn him into a whore yet. He was still blissfully a virgin in everything and he hoped it could stay that way.

Almost as if his thoughts had been heard, the King himself stepped into the harem quarters and the ladies all stood to bow respectfully. Gavin, on the other hand, dropped his apple and stared at the other man in terror.

“Gavin, stand up…” Barbara muttered under her breath, reaching for his arm. When she touched his skin, he yelped and jumped up, hiding behind her and burying his face in her back as he trembled. Startled, she moved to face him but he gripped to her with all his strength and she couldn’t move at all without hurting him.

“Peidiwch â symud! Stop! Mae'n ddrwg gen i! Please! Peidiwch â gwneud i mi fynd gydag ef! Rwy'n casáu wrtho! Nid wyf am i! Please! Please!” He was shouting terrified cries as he trembled behind her and, flustered, she looked back to the King, helpless.

“I’m sorry, highness. I don’t know what he’s saying or why he’s acting like this.”

“It’s fine.” Burnie replied, waving off the whimpering boy, “I’m not here for him.” He turned to Ashley then, “How’s he been doing?”

“He is eating well, majesty.” Ashley responded a little airily, “A little defiant and frustrating but we’re working around it. We can start teaching him our language if you want.”

The King nodded, “He has to drop his language before I can take him anywhere.”

“We’ll try our best, sir.”

And they did try, by all accounts. Every day for the next year was the same routine. He would be woken up and dragged to the baths, washed clean, and presented with clothing which he would refuse at first before, at the threat of losing food, he would put on the wrap or chiffon-like pants. Gradually he started to regain the weight he had lost and grew into a healthy young boy.

During the daytime, the girls would try to teach him their language but he grew bored of it quickly and stopped paying attention, making it very hard for him to learn. Instead he would sit in one of their laps and play with another’s hair, letting his fingers run through the silky strands. It was calming for him, and slowly, he started to adjust. There wasn’t much asked of him besides learning a language he didn’t care for. No one had groped him yet or sent him to a slave trainer. As far as it looked, he was just a pretty little showpiece for the King that was still being shined for presentation.

But a year was a very long time and the more he fought against learning, the more Burnie became frustrated.

Every time the King wandered into the harem quarters to ask progress, the ladies all looked apologetic and he was just disappointed. But Gavin’s reaction didn’t change. Whenever the man was within his eyesight he would cower behind one of the girls and cry quietly until he was gone.

And it wasn't just with Burnie. Sometimes the girls would take him on a walk through the court gardens just to get him some sun. With women he was shy and that was about it, but if a man happened to stray too close, he would tense up and cling to one of the girls, making sure to put her between himself and the other man. Whether it was another slave or a guard or an aristocrat or council member the reaction was the same. He had a general distrust of all men probably because he knew why he was there to begin with.

Burnie was getting more than fed up with it and he made sure to let the girls know it, giving them until the next high council meeting to get him at least speaking and understanding basic sentences. Regardless he was going to take his toy to the meeting and show him off.

So the girls found another method, rewarding him when he paid attention and taking away his food when he didn’t. He learned quickly that listening would avoid an empty stomach.

They didn’t tell him that his first real presentation was coming up because he would have panicked and that was the last thing they needed him to do. They coddled him and loved him like a younger brother but the King had made it clear that there was a real possibility of him being sent to the handlers if he didn’t present well. No one wanted to be an aid in that.

It was the night of the presentation that everything went south. The girls all sat around him loosely, going over sentences with him; important ones that they figured he would need to know for this meeting. He hasn't noticed when they had dressed him more extravagantly than normal and actually styled his hair that had grown out a lot since he had first arrived. It stuck up in odd and quirky angles but it worked for him very well.

“What do you say when someone asks for your name?” Ashley asked, holding up a piece of  apple for him if he got a correct answer.

 _Name?_  The word set off a memory in his mind. They were asking for his name, “M… my…” His brows were pulled together as he concentrated, “name… i-is…” He huffed, “is… Gavin.”

“Good!” Ashley fed him the apple and he beamed, chewing happily and swallowing.

“What do you call his majesty?” Barbara asked next, holding up a strawberry.

“My…” He hesitated, searching his brain, “My… k… k-king?” He looked to her for confirmation.

She nodded and dipped the strawberry in cocoa sauce before handing it to him.

Disgruntled, as he always was when Burnie was mentioned, he took the strawberry.

“I don’t think he’ll get many questions from the council.” Arryn added as an afterthought, before addressing him again, “Gavin, what do you say when the King asks you something.”

He blinked at her, frowning, confusion clear on his face. “I… don’t…”

They leaned as he sounded out the next word. It wasn’t the right answer but at least he was speaking the right language.

“U...und...underst...understand…?”

“Very good, Gavin.” Arryn smiled, “But that’s wrong. You say ‘Yes, sir’ no matter what. Yes, sir.” She repeated the phrase for emphasis.

“Y-yes… s-s...s-ir.”

“That’s it.”

“How about when someone asks how old you are?” Kara this time.

 _Old. Age. How old am I?_  “I… I a-am...am fff-...mmmm…” He growled in frustration. Numbers weren’t his strongest area, “Four… fourtee…?”

“Four _teen_ _._ ” She emphasized the ‘n’ sound heavily.

“Four _teen_ _._ ”

“Good!” A handful of pomegranate seeds were dropped into his palm.

Suddenly the curtain to the king's chamber was thrown open and a guard walked in with large strides and purpose. With each step Gavin became more rigid until it was clear that the guard was coming for him and he shrieked, jumping behind Ashley, "Na! Beth wnes i? Dydw i ddim eisiau mynd! Gadewch i mi ei ben ei hun!"

Ashley frowned apologetically and wrapped an arm around his shoulders before pushing him towards the guard who stopped in front of her expectantly, "It'll be okay, Gavin. Just go with him."

Though he didn't understand what she said, he could understand the tone and his look of betrayal was damn near heartbreaking as he looked back at her and leaned away from the man.

In the guard's hand glinted the gold metal links of his chain. Gavin had come to associate that leash as something bad and he yelled in protest as his wrist was grabbed and the metal threaded through the hoop on his collar.

"Gadewch i fynd! Nid wyf am i!"

The familiar crack of being backhanded and the pain that followed had him stumbling to the side with a cry of pain.

"Hey!" Ashley yelled, "Wait a minute! There's no need for that!" She hovered over him protectively, easily pushing her way between him and the man.

"Get out of my way." The guard growled as Gavin whimpered on the ground behind the handmaid, "The King has demanded he be brought to him."

"You don't have to hit him!" Ashley replied, "We didn't tell him he had a presentation today. He's scared!"

Another crack sounded through the room and Ashley fell beside the concubine with a huff. The other girls gasped in surprise and alarm.

"Ashley!" The boy's concerned voice rang out and he crawled over to her, gently nudging her shoulder as she sat up and rubbed at her cheek.

In the next moment, he was being yanked up by his chain, his collar constricting his airways and causing him to choke as he clawed at the metal uselessly. "Come on, you little brat." The guard snapped and dragged the boy from the harem quarters, nearly throwing him into the King's chamber.

Gavin's back hit the corner of a table and he hissed loudly, falling to his hands and knees. A foot suddenly connected with his face and he spluttered, feeling blood run down his nose.

"You're more trouble than you're worth." The man hissed, yanking him up by the hair and punching him in the side.

Gavin yelped, tears flowing freely now. This beating was unprecedented. There didn't seem to be any cause for it and his confusion just made everything worse. Still, he didn't dare question it. The language he spoke would only upset the guard more. He had learned that when he was first brought here.

A knee suddenly connected with his stomach and the air rushed out of him. Then a fist delivered a vicious uppercut to his jaw, causing him to bite his tongue. He was spitting out blood before his chain was grabbed again and he was half dragged to the meeting room where the king waited. Viciously, he was thrown at the King’s feet by his hair and he simply lay there limply, panting and wheezing and trembling, so far beyond even trying to move that just the thought caused him physical pain.

Burnie, startled in his chair, looked down at the boy with shock and wide eyes at his state. One of his eyes was swollen shut and bruised, the flesh looked tender to the touch and blood was running from his mouth and nose. A purple bruise blossomed on his left side and his waist wrap was about ready to come off, hanging loosely around his waist. On the edge of his seat now, enraged confusion dotting his brow, he looked to the guard that brought him in, “Did you do this to him?”

“Yes, sir.” The guard said confidently, sticking out his chest with pride as if he’d done his king a service.

He gritted his teeth, “On what grounds?”

And then the guard hesitated, sensing some tension, “Well… sir, he… he refused to come along. That’s the protocol for when slaves misbehave.”

The King’s leg bounced with an anxious and deadly urge. He ran a hand over his face and gestured that the guard come closer so that the council didn’t hear. As his gesture was obeyed, he spoke quietly and succinctly, “This was supposed to be his first presentation and you just fucking set me back at least another four months on getting him trained and broken in.” His voice was slowly becoming louder until he was shouting into the man’s ear, “Do you  _really_  think… that in  _this situation_ … beating him  _half to death_  is part of the  _protocol_ _!?_ ”

“Sir, I-I… I was unaware that it was-...”

“Get out. Get out of my castle right now before I have my right hand cut you down right now.”

“B-but, sir!”

“ _Get out!_ ”

The ex-guard nearly stumbled over himself trying to run from the room.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Burnie sat back in his chair and covered his eyes with a hand, “I really need to fucking retrain my guard…”

After a moment, a council member at the long wooden table cleared his throat, “My liege… the meeting…”

He looked tired as he removed his hand from his face and stared at the council. A choked wheeze turned his attention down to his feet where the boy lay curled up. He sighed, “Let’s reschedule. I have to take care of this mess.”

“Certainly you can get one of the other servants to do it.” Another council member protested, “This is an important meeting and shouldn’t be put off by a meaningless whore and his problem with authority.”

Burnie was gritting his teeth again, “I have to do it. And I’m going to do it from now on. If anyone has a problem with it…” He gestured to the large double doors that led into the room, “There’s your fucking exit. Don’t bother coming back.”

No one moved.

“Right then. How does next week sound?” He was met with a chorus of agreeable voices, “Good. I’ll see you then. You’re dismissed.”

He waited until the council had all left before standing and gathering the boy into his arms. He was limp and exhausted, beyond caring about who had him. It reminded Burnie of a year ago when this had happened before, though that time hadn’t been nearly this bad, “Let’s take you back to the girls and get you patched up.”

Said handmaidens were frantic when he walked in, completely forgetting their manners in favor of crowding around Burnie and the boy in his arms and angrily cursing the guard he had aptly fired. He set Gavin upon the cushioned floor and they immediately went to work, hands all over him, tending to him carefully and cleaning up the blood that was staining his face.

The King watched them silently until he noticed Ashley’s face was swollen and bruised as well. He stopped her and pulled her aside, “What happened?” His knuckles gently brushed her cheek.

She looked away from him, “Its nothing.”

“Did he hit you too?”

She hesitated but nodded shortly after, “I was trying to protect him. The guard struck him for no reason! I tried to explain it to him that we didn’t tell him he was being presented today but it didn’t matter. He struck me aside and dragged Gavin away.”

“Why didn’t you tell him he was being presented?” Burnie’s brows bunched in confusion.

“He wouldn’t have learned anything. He would have been so anxious over presenting that… well everything we would have taught him would have been lost. He learned so much these past few weeks. We tried so hard, sir.”

He looked back to the boy who was looking better except for the bruises, “I know you did.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face, “I think there’s an obvious problem here that I need to rectify though.”

“Like what, sir?” She prompted.

He folded his arms, “He’s got an obvious distrust of men; of people in general, but mostly men. I think I need to make it so that he has no choice but to interact with me. Keeping him out of my arm’s reach has only led to this.” He gestured to the boy.

It was silent for a moment as all the girls heard what he said and what it meant.

“You’re getting rid of us?” Kara asked softly.

“Not completely.” He assured, “You’ll go back to your old positions and you’ll still be able to see him when you can. I just don’t want you in here all the time. He… He really needs to learn if he is going to be trained. I really don’t want to send him to the handlers. They’d probably kill him.”

Barbara ran her fingers through the boy’s hair as he slept, “So this is our last night with him then…”

Burnie let the silence ring as confirmation.

“Promise us you’ll take care of him, sir. Please. He really is a sweet boy and he’s naturally curious. He just doesn’t understand so much even though he tries.” Ashley gently placed a hand on his bicep, “Promise us, sir. Promise you’ll be patient with him.”

“Yeah.” He looked back at her with a gentle smile, “I’ll do my best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a song about facing your fears by being imprisoned in a box with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been awhile and I don't like how it ended but I figured it was well overdue and here you are.

Burnie sat next to Gavin as the boy slept. He had already dismissed the girls and was preparing himself for the chaos he was sure would ensue after he woke the harlot. In hindsight, taking away the kid’s security blankets might have been a bad move but this was a hard learned lesson and there wasn’t an option anymore.

He watched him sleep quietly, sitting cross-legged and noting the gentle way his mouth hung open slightly. He looked more peaceful than he had the first night he’d seen him asleep. The girls had really helped him. Too bad it was about to be completely unravelled.

Deciding it was now or never, he reached forward and shook the boy’s shoulder gently.

He couldn’t help but hold his breath when tanned skin shifted and Gavin’s frame stretched before he blinked open sleepy eyes and looked at the one who had roused him.

It was quiet for a moment and Burnie couldn’t help but think that things were going good so far…  but the reaction was almost instantaneous. A mixture of potent emotions flashed over the boy’s face ranging from confusion to recognition to horror and he shrieked and launched himself away from the older man.

Burnie let a small curse slip from between his teeth as he remained still in an effort not to spook the other further.

Gavin kept his eyes wide and on him like a hawk but after a moment he winced and brought a hand to his head with a shuddering whimper. The bruises were reminding him of the previous night; the pain and hurt suddenly overpowering his current panic if only marginally.

Taking a step closer, the King reached out a hand slowly, trying not to spook the boy but Gavin crawled back with each step, eventually running into a wall. Burnie sighed and ran a hand over his face before staring down at his trembling and ailing harlot. He couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes jumped around the room searchingly but never left the King for long and he couldn’t pretend to not know who he was looking for.

“They’re gone.” He told the boy gently, “I sent them away.”

It took a moment for the concubine to understand but when he recognized the word “gone” that was the end of what little composure he had. A horrified wail ripped from his chest and he curled in on himself, hoping that if he folded himself tight enough, no one would be able to touch him.

Of course that wasn’t the case as he felt the heavy hand of the king come down on his shoulder. He tried to jerk away but felt the wall at his back and realized it was useless. There was a weak will of fighting as he was picked up in strong arms though not as roughly as he expected. He kicked out and twisted but it hardly budged the older man and felt the clasp of his waist wrap being undone, causing a surge of fresh panic to make him cry out.

His thrashing only subsided when he felt the warm water of the bathing fountain lap at his legs and waist as he was gently lowered in. Then, just like that, the hands were gone and he was sitting in the pool by himself. He frantically looked over his shoulder at the king who was taking off his boots and hiking up his pant legs.

Gavin couldn’t deny the acute relief that spread through him at the realization that the king wasn’t stripping down as well, but it didn’t stop him from tensing when the man’s legs cradled his form in the water as he sat on the ledge behind him. He curled his knees up to his chest and trembled, trying his hardest not to let any of his skin touch the King whatsoever.

It was a useless attempt really. When Burnie’s hands dipped a cloth into the water and brought it to his shoulder, he held back a squeak. The water was warm and the touch was gentle; nothing like he’d expected.

“I know you remember some things over the past year that the girls have taught you.” came the low voice in Gavin’s ear as the washcloth trailed over his skin, “You might not be able to speak it now but I know you can understand some of it so I want you to listen, okay?”

The harlot bit his lip. It was true that there were some words that had been repeated so many times that it was impossible for him to not understand them. In fact, by this point he knew enough words to pick them out of a sentence and understand what was being communicated. Over the last year, though he’d been lazy and just wanted the girls to dote on him. Maybe that was why they had been taken away. Someone had noticed.

When no reply came from the boy, Burnie sighed and took it as a confirmation before continuing, “I’m not going to hurt you, Gavin. I don’t want to. I want to take care of you and when you’re ready you can take care of me alright? It’ll be that simple.”

Gavin resisted when fingers curled around his wrist and pulled lightly, but gave in with a trembling whimper letting his arm extend. The cloth brushed against his flesh to clean it and suddenly another hand was around his throat. He couldn’t hold back the yelp in response, snapping his eyes shut and breathing heavily…

But nothing happened, there was no tightening of a grip or snapping of his neck or pinning him down and immobilizing him. the fingers just rested there softly, feeling the smooth ridges of his throat and his adam’s apple as it bobbed with a nervous swallow. Gently the fingers pushed, coaxing his head to tip back and, if only to prolong the life he thought he might be losing, he obeyed, looking up at the King with wide, terrified eyes.

Burnie looked back at him, “Understand?”

There was a certain gravity to the question, Gavin knew. His answer was the breaker. He could either suffer or gain from what he said in response and this was the point he had to decide which route he wanted to take. Saying no would mean a trip to the slave handlers and trainers he was sure, but saying yes would mean… well he wasn’t really sure what it would mean and that scared him as much as the trainers did. But compared to the hard calloused hands and whips of the nightmares his mind had conjured up about the people, the softer hands of this King seemed like the best method of self-preservation.

A reluctant shadow passed across his face but he felt the fingers at his throat press again and his mouth opened reflexively releasing a shaky breath. He cinched his eyes shut, not wanting to look into the eyes of the man who had claimed his fate, and nodded.

And just like that, the fingers disappeared and the washcloth was placed on top of his head anticlimactically.

“Good.” Burnie spoke lightly, his legs disappearing from beside the younger man, “I’m glad we understand each other.”

Gavin chanced a quick look behind him and saw the King pulling down the rolled up legs to his trousers and straightening himself. Swallowing, he pulled the cloth from his head and watched the other man with a wary eye as he turned to look at the harlot.

“Finish in here and get dressed. I’m taking you with me today.” There was a fresh waist wrap in his belt, purple with golden accents that he pulled out and set on the ledge of the pool next to the concubine-in-training, “You can wear this and…” He pulled out another piece of fabric purple as well with more gold, “I’ll show you how to put this on. It’s going to be a little cold where we’re going so a change in wardrobe is in order.”

Gavin looked incredulously at the wrap at then at the fabric the king still held. At least he was keeping his distance. With still trembling fingers, he finished rubbing the washcloth over his body before he realized that the King wasn’t leaving and that he was fully expecting him to get dressed in his view.

A deep blush spread over his cheeks and he half turned to Burnie hoping the other man would take the hint.

But Burnie only stared back slightly amused at the way the harlot was acting.

Gavin hummed in nervousness before speaking softly, “T-t-troi o amgylch, rhowch.”

The older man leaned forward as if he couldn’t hear.

So the harlot raised his voice, “Troi o amgylch, rhowch.”

Still though, Burnie pretended not to hear him right.

Gavin huffed, finally and turned fully towards him and covered his eyes with his hands and then pulled them away to make sure the other man understood.

There was a subtle sound of acknowledgment from the King and he turned around, “How’s this?”

“Diolch ichi…” The Brit grabbed the wrap and stood, preparing to put it on, but the king turned back then.

“What was that?” There was a smirk on his face as the boy scrambled to cover himself from view with the wrap.

“Na!”

“Well what did you say?” Burnie was aware that he sounded like a parent trying to coax a louder tone from a mumbling child which… accurate.

“Naaa!” Gavin gestured for him to turn around again and whimpered when he didn’t, trying to find the words and sound them out from memory, “Th-... th-thank… y-...”

And that’s all it took for Burnie to turn back around. At least the boy was polite.

Flabberghasted, the Brit stood there for a moment before finishing with the wrap that only fell to his knees just above the water. He fidgeted for a moment, calculating the possibility of jumping out of the pool and running past the king to find the girls. Would he run into guards? Would he be fast enough to outmaneuver them? Would he even find the girls in this large castle? They were probably back in their respective jobs in the palace. Would the punishment be worth the attempt if he was caught? Where would he go after he found them? Would they hide him?

Despite the very negative answers his mind thought up, Gavin quietly slipped out of the pool and tiptoed towards the door.

He hadn’t even made it past the King when the older man turned around and he froze in his spot, the door just barely five feet away.

Burnie moved slowly, raising his hands in a very nonthreatening way and taking a gentle step towards the boy, “Gavin. Don’t do this. For Christ’s sake, think about what you’re doing…”

In his frozen state, Gavin let out a whimper, his muscles coiled and the instinct to bolt so insistent that he was shaking with it.

Every step Burnie took, light or not, made the boy flinch but he kept going. If he could just grab his arm and keep him from running, he wouldn’t have to punish him. He could dress the boy and they could be on their way. But every bootfall just made the muscles in his legs coil more and when he was just out of grabbing range, Gavin took off.

“Shit, shit, _shit_. _Gavin, don’t!_ ” Burnie tried to lunge after him but missed by a hair’s breadth and then the boy was gone, out of the room and down the corridors. He rushed out to follow and saw that the guards were ready to follow, but he stopped them, “Don’t touch him. I’ve got him.” And he gave chase, running through the corridors much to the advisors’ disapproval.

Gavin knew this was a huge mistake. He knew that he was in for a severe punishment, probably a trip to the handlers who’d use whips and everything in their power to make sure he’d learned his lesson, but all that knowledge only made him run faster, in more of a panic. He ducked into the servants’ quarters, brushing through the maids and other slaves of the castle before dashing through the laundering room. People shouted at him and told him to stop or slow down but his feet wouldn’t let him. It was when he burst into the kitchen and ran into one of the chefs that he stopped. A knife had fallen from the man’s grip and nearly landed on his head had he not been knocked back by the force of the collision.

The chef spit out a curse and turned to look at the harlot who curled into himself as he saw anger exploding behind the other man’s eyes. He picked up the knife and pointed at him with it, “Little whore! Get out of my kitchen!”

Gavin flinched at the harsh words but otherwise gave a blank, clueless blink in response.

All movement had halted from the others in the room when the chef yelled again, “I said out! Do you not understand Austinian?!”

A much subtler, feminine voice spoke up then, “Gavin?” It was off to the harlot’s right side, just behind the chef. Her blue eyes showed confusion and then worry, “Gavin, please don’t tell me you ran from his majesty…”

Gavin gulped and heard the door burst open behind him. Turning to look, he saw the King, winded and panting as he paused to catch his breath. A yelp escaped the boy and he crawled over to the woman and wrapped his arms around her legs as if she would be his savior, “Ashley! Ashely, please! Dydw i ddim eisiau mynd! Rwy'n ofnus! Os gwelwch yn dda! Rwy'n casáu wrtho! Peidiwch â gadael i mi ei ben ei hun gydag ef! Peidiwch â gadael i mi! Dewch yn ôl! Os gwelwch yn dda!” He felt her disappointed sigh and tensed, clutching to her dress tightly and tears streaming down his face both at what he had done and what he knew was coming, “Achub fi…”

Ashley’s eyes met those of the King who was still panting from following his concubine through the corridors. Placing her bowl onto the counter, she knelt down and placed a hand on Gavin’s head, trying to calm him, “Oh, Gavin…”

He didn’t waste any moment, looking up at her and climbing against her chest for her to hold him which she did, thankfully. And then he was airborne, she had stood and was walking towards the King. He shrieked and pushed himself further into her embrace, trying his damndest to get away from the older man but there was a silent communication between the two and she simply followed behind the royal as he walked back through the corridors to the harem quarters.

It was an eerily quiet walk and by the time he was set down, he was calm, looking between them with a wary but expectant expression, knowing he’d done wrong and would be punished for it.

Silence in the room was deafening until Ashley spoke up quietly, “Are you going to send him to the trainers?” She was aware of the way Gavin shifted at the last word.

Burnie sighed, “I don’t want to… He’s making it very difficult.” he ran a hand through his hair and looked back down at the boy who flinched in response, “How did you punish him?”

“Normally if we threatened to take his meals away he would do whatever we asked. I’m not sure if its the same though. This is… slightly more severe...”

A slow breath released from the older man’s mouth, “We have a long trip today. I’m taking him with me to Shepherd’s Pass. It is going to be very cold and without food, I don’t think he’ll make it.”

“There’s still frost on the ground though. Do you have something for him to wear? He’ll freeze to death before you get there.”

He purposefully ignored her question, “Bring up some food. I’ll let him eat and then we’re leaving. Probably won’t be back for a couple weeks so don’t worry too much.”

“Weeks?” Ashley steeled herself, “You’re going to the Pass for a couple weeks? Whatever for?”

Burnie’s sharp look made the woman look down, acknowledging her overstepping, “He and I are going to the cabin. Confined space with no other options will… well hopefully it will break him out of this. I don’t have any other options.”

The handmaiden looked as if she wanted to say something and the King sighed, gesturing her to speak and breaking the formal wall between them that had so often been broken before. “What are you going to do for those weeks with him?” She asked gently.

“Teach him how to be comfortable around me and the language and all that. I won’t start training him until he’s old enough. I think he’s still too young yet. Too confused. If I can let him know that, maybe he’ll loosen up. That’s all I need; a little bit of alone time, roughing it at the cabin with my harlot.”

Ashley chuckled softly and placed a hand on Burnie’s bicep, “I hope this works.”

A gentle look passed between them and he covered her hand with his, “Me too.”

 

* * *

 

It was five hours later, their party moving slowly along the trail to the Pass. Five guards walked along, scattered loosely around a carriage pulled by two horses. Inside the King was anxiously biting at his lip while one of his advisers tried to calm him, telling him this was the right thing to do, but the sound of stumbling feet and muffled sobs were hard to ignore.

One of the guards, the head of the Royal Stealth guard to be precise, tapped on the side of the carriage door, not bothering to stop the driver.

Burnie moved the curtain aside and poked his head out of the small window, “What’s up, Monty?”

“I’m not criticizing your punishment methods, your highness…” The smaller guard spoke in a soft tone so no others would hear, “But I really think that you should at least view the result. Your toy is… getting pretty damaged…”

The speed at which the King’s head snapped to the rear of the carriage was nearly sound barrier breaking.

And the sight was everything he hoped it wouldn’t be but knew it would.

For his punishment, his advisor had suggested Gavin be tied to the back of the carriage by his collar and leash to walk the whole way to the cabin, but that was proving to be more dangerous than anything. As Burnie’s eyes looked upon the harlot, he saw the cut and bloody feet, red and verging frost-bitten from the cold. He was stumbling more than walking, legs nearly tangling with each other through every agonizing step. Bloodshot eyes were dazed and his arms hung loosely at his sides as panted whimpers pushed through his dry and cracked lips. The light fabric around his hips was doing shit for all at keeping him warm and he looked ready to pass out; as if all it would take would be for him to trip once and down he would go.

“Shit… _Shit, shit, shit_. Goddamn. Stop. Everybody stop...” Burnie called, ignoring the protests of his advisor as he jumped out and into the cold. He grabbed one of the blankets from the seat and walked back to where the boy had fallen upon the frost, breathing heavily and shivering uncontrollably.

This was not what he had wanted to do. His advisor needed a good kick in the head for even suggesting this.

The leash was untied and returned to the King’s waist and he knelt down next to the boy, gathering him up in the blanket and holding him close as he moved to get back into the carriage. The Brit seemed uncaring to the fact that Burnie was holding him and curled his shivering form further into the King’s heat, nearly clinging to him. The advisor met him halfway though, blocking the entrance to the carriage.

“Sir, as your advisor, I advise against babying this… this whore...”

Burnie stared at the other man for a moment before subtly gesturing to Monty with his head.

The guard captain was quick to grab the adviser by the scruff of the neck like a disobedient puppy and remove him from the way, instead making the man walk.

Inside the carriage, the boy was laid in the royal’s lap and covered with more blankets until he fell asleep to the King’s thick fingers brushing gently through his hair still shivering.

The rest of the trip remained uneventful with Gavin sleeping the rest of the way through it.

When they arrived at the cabin, the King was reluctant to wake the sleeping harlot, who looked peaceful for once and wasn’t scrambling to get away from him. So instead he picked him up in his arms, despite the loud protests of his advisor, and carried him inside. Burnie waved his hand and the guards dispersed, covering every exit as they had been told to do before they had even left the castle.

He heard the second carriage full of supplies pull up just as he set Gavin down upon the bed.

The cabin was small. Essentially it was one large room with enough furnishings to comfortably house two people. To one side, a table and a bookshelf as well as cabinetry and a cooking pit could be found. The other side showed a small assortment of elegant lounge chairs in front of a roaring fireplace. Beyond the chairs, the bed was large and soft and plush enough to sink into with thick comforters of down feathers. They swaddled the harlot like a newborn in linens.

Burnie couldn’t help but to stare a bit, admiring the way the firelight danced on his tan skin.

The repetition of being on this end of the boy’s consciousness constantly wasn’t lost on him. It was a bit unnerving actually and certainly wasn’t helping the boy’s complex. Hopefully everything would be sorted out during this mild vacation.

A heavy sigh escaped the King who lightly carded a hand through his curls before sending for a bucket of water and bandages. He had a harlot’s feet to wrap up; a sleeping boy to wake. He was hesitant to touch the tan skin, but got over it fairly quickly. With the water and bandages by the chair he had pulled over to the end of the bed, he grabbed the Brit’s foot and a wet cloth and set to doing the lowly servant work of washing the harlot’s feet.

Oh if his advisor could see him now, he’d throw a tantrum. Kings were not meant to wash the feet of commoners let alone lowly whores. But Burnie was a benevolent king who believed in earning the trust of his people. That didn’t come from treating his subjects like dirt.

So he gently wiped at the boy’s feet, the cloth removing the blood and dirt and snow. It didn’t take long for the tickling sensation to wake Gavin and Burnie made sure to tighten his grip on the concubine’s ankle lest he try to jerk away.

Sure enough, the resounding yelp and jerk of the body upon the bed was hard to miss and the King almost chuckled at the predictability of the situation. The boy tugged insistently, a soft panic setting in until he gave up with a frustrated whine and fell back onto the bed, covering his face with his hands.

With one foot wrapped, he moved quickly onto the next, chancing a glance up at the boy who had, by this time, pulled one of the pillows down to cover his face. A heavy sigh escaped him, “I really wish you’d relax.”

No response came from the pillow and Burnie shrugged. He understood this wouldn’t be an overnight thing.

“Since you’re not screaming, I’ll just let you know what’s going on.” The king continued, “You and I are taking a little vacation outside of the city. The both of us will stay in here until you can get over your fear of me and I’ll help you with that. Windows and doors are all guarded so there’s no point in trying to run away. You can either share the bed with me or sleep on the floor, its your choice.” He finished wrapping the other foot, “The sooner you realize I’m not going to hurt you, the sooner we can get back to the castle.” Again, there was no answer so, with his job done, he set the water and cloth aside, standing and wiping his hands on his pants, “I’m hungry, how about you? No? Alright then.”

Burnie was aware he was being a bit of an asshole but he couldn’t care less. He was tired already and this trip had barely started. He could only hope that everything would flow smoothly from here on out. Heaven knew it hadn’t so far.

He supposed he could worry about everything later, so he walked over to the cooking pit and started to poke at the coals. Some servants had already been by to stock the cabin and warm the coals and fireplace. With the clouds moving in from the east, Burnie could tell the castle was in for a harsh ice storm. It was that time of year.

There was a tug in the back of his mind about the boy. He knew the kid would vouch to sleep on the floor and with the snow that was coming, there was a high possibility he would get sick. He sighed heavily and shook his head as he placed fresh meat that had been laid out on the counter onto the spit to begin roasting.

A quick look to the side revealed the lad had curled up on the bed, back facing his king and owner. Burnie assumed that would be all of what he’d see of the boy for awhile, which was fine. He’d keep pushing until the lad finally answered him. It was all he could do at this point without sending the boy to the trainers.

Effective as they were, he was positive that their brutal tactics would break the boy to pieces. It was the very reason he bought Gavin in the first place; to keep him away from that side of the harlot life. Training for harlots was always more brutal than any of the other slave trainings. There had been a point when he was first appointed king that he had thought about putting some boundaries on the trainers but leave it to the council to balk at the mention of slave reform. His proposition had floated about as well as a lead balloon. Not only that but it brought up the question of a harem of his own which he, in turn, had balked at himself. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that his eventual harem would consist of rescue slaves.

A deep sigh centered the king’s thoughts and he walked over to one of the cupboards, pulling out bowls and cups. By the time the meal was cooked and Burnie had eaten his fill in silence on the other side of the room, the sky had grown dark and the cabin was illuminated only by the fireplace’s glow.

It honestly didn’t surprise him when he felt the first wave of exhaustion pass over his form. Their trip had been long and he was full…

Burnie eyed the bed curiously for a moment, noting the slighter figure of the boy still hadn’t moved, before walking silently over to the side of the bed and beginning to remove his jewels and other kingly items. When they were piled neatly on the nightstand, he pulled a pair of sleeping trousers from the drawer and set them on the bedcovers.

As he started to remove his cloak and then his travelling tunic, he saw the lad tense up and it looked, for all intents and purposes, like he had stopped breathing. Burnie pursed his lips as he folded the reason why and placed it on the nightstand over the jewelry. After that it was a simple matter to slip off his trousers and replace them with sleepwear.

The fire had died down and was simmering lowly and the king knew he needed to put it out before bed. That took all of two minutes, the last of the amber coals sizzling and blackening. In the back of his mind, he knew he was procrastinating; anything to keep the boy from self-induced hyperventilation, but it wasn’t something he could keep up forever. Not with this bone tiredness in him from the anxiety of the rest of the trip.

Burnie sighed deeply and walked back to the bed, pausing to pull back the covers before slipping underneath them.

It took all of thirty seconds before Gavin slipped from his side of the bed to the floor, curling up against the floorboards and causing the king to frown.

Burnie didn’t have it in him to be a stubborn jerk so he kicked off a few blankets and a pillow for the boy, and curled in on himself to sleep.

He was going to need to gather his strength for the rest of this stay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blizzards are great for bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next installment! Enjoy!  
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated :)

The following morning, Burnie was awakened by a hand on his shoulder trying to rouse him from sleep.

The king blinked open bleary eyes before yawning and looking up at whoever had disturbed him. He was met with Monty staring down at him, holding Gavin’s arm in a light grip off to the side. The lad sported a mix of emotions, mostly disappointment and hopelessness but maybe there was a bit of guilt in there too, as if he were sorry.

_Probably sorry for being caught in whatever he was trying to do before Monty caught him_ , Burnie thought with a frown, “What’s up, Monty?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The guard deadpanned, “He asked to go to the bathroom and then tried to make a run for it once we lead him to the outhouse.”

Burnie sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes, “How far did he get before he was caught?”

“Not far. But your advisor was pretty adamant about having him chained to your bedside with a chamber pot.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

Monty shrugged and Gavin seemed to sigh in relief, that is, until Burnie held out his hand.

“Bring him here.”

Much to the harlot’s dismay, Monty pulled the boy by his arm to Burnie who took over for holding on to him and pulled him into the bed. Gavin struggled and whimpered in protest but Burnie’s arms were all-encompassing and he was pulled into an almost bear hug in the king’s lap with his back pressed firmly against Burnie’s chest and his arms pinned by the tight hold of the older man’s biceps.

He trembled and subtle, shaky sobs escaped him, tears of panic and fear rolling hotly down his cheeks. He felt Burnie’s beard against his ear and shuddered, trying to turn away and failing, “Please…” He whimpered.

“Easy…” Burnie whispered softly in reply, simply holding the lad and gesturing with his eyes that Monty should go. The knight didn’t need to be told twice and the king waited for the door to close before starting this talk with his harlot, “Gavin, we’re going to have a serious discussion right now. I’m going to need you to participate. Do you understand?” When there was no reply, Burnie jostled the boy lightly between his legs, “ _Gavin_ …”

Gavin whimpered and hung his head, “Y-yes s-sire.”

The king had to admit that he perked up at that. It was progress no matter how small, “Good boy! Thank you!” he continued on, “Gavin, I need you to reflect with me on the past year, okay? I’ll ask you a few questions and you can just respond with yes or no. I know you still have a hard time speaking the language but I also know damn well you can understand it. You ready?”

The was a slight sniffle but the lad nodded anyway.

“Good. First question.” Burnie paused for dramatic effect, then went on, “At any point in the past year have I touched you in a way that made you think I was going to hurt you or otherwise?”

Gavin hesitated and swallowed, trying to find a time where he had thought that very thing without being surprised by the actual outcome. Finally, with a resigned whimper, he shook his head, “No.”

“Alright, at any time have I chained you to the bed or denied you basic things like food, water, clothing, shelter, etc.?”

Again there was a pause as the lad sorted through his mind, “No.”

“Have I ever used you in a way you were not happy with?”

He’d hardly had any contact with Burnie until a couple days ago when he had sent the girls away, so that answer was obvious, “No.”

“What about other people hurting you or abusing you?”

“Yes!” Gavin almost yelled, incredulous that the king could even forget his near death experiences with the guards.

Burnie nodded, “Alright and were those people reprimanded for their actions?”

Oh… “Yes…”

“So let me paint this picture for you, Gav. You’ve been given everything under the sun pretty much and I haven’t even had you _trained_ for what you’re _supposed_ to be here for. But that collar makes it official and if you leave my side and someone finds you, you’re going to be brought straight back to me and I’m not going to have any other choice but to send you to the trainers. You know of them right?”

Gavin shuddered and nodded.

“On top of that, you’re many, many miles from home. You don’t speak our language and everyone will know where you’re from. That right there would have slavers all over you. Some of them might be able to get your collar off but you’d be sold again to someone who _would_ send you to the trainers and they’d be much less forgiving. I know how some people are with their pleasure slaves, Gav. Its my business to know. You don’t want to be in that predicament ever. You could find yourself chained to a bed, lucky to get scraps for dinner every other night much less a daily meal and you’d be fucked every day, every night, multiple times until you broke and they had nothing to do but put you down. That’s what they do in this country and that’s how its always been.”

Gavin was trembling with Burnie’s words as he painted a gruesome picture in his mind and he sobbed as he realized the king was right.

“I’m trying to protect you from all of that. Eventually you _will_ have to be trained but I don’t need to involve the trainers. I can do it myself but you have to trust me. You can’t keep fighting me at every turn like this or I’m not gonna have a choice.”

It was silent for a moment, only Gavin’s sniffling could be heard until the lad mumbled something low enough that Burnie couldn’t hear.

“What was that?” the king asked.

“W-why care?”

“Why do I care about you?” the lad nodded and Burnie thought on his response for a moment. It was a good question. He really had no valid reason, “I guess I just have a bleeding heart for those who can’t help themselves. I was on the other side of the crown not too long ago, Gavin, and even then I didn’t appreciate how slaves were treated or the fact that the status even existed. But I can only do so much. I just became king not too long ago and I can’t change an entire culture overnight. Not without having my own people assassinate me.”

Gavin sniffled once more and wiped his eyes on his shoulder, but he nodded his understanding and seemed to relax more in the king’s hold.

“I’m going to let you go, okay? Think about what I’ve said here. If you have any questions, I’ll answer them.”

The harlot nodded and crawled off of the bed as Burnie released his hold. He could only hope that was enough to get through to the kid

The good news was that after their little conversation, Gavin relaxed a bit. He still slept on the floor and absolutely refused to initiate conversation but he would at least answer a question to the best of his ability. Burnie had put teaching the lad to speak the language on his list of things to do but getting Gavin to participate was like pulling teeth and he would feign exhaustion and go to his spot on the floor and curl up under the blanket Burnie had provided him, completely ignoring the king for the rest of the evening.

That all ended in a single white night.

They had been snowed in during the blizzard of the century. Burnie was anxious about the well being of his guards who had taken to making sure his door didn’t get completely blocked by the snow. It was inevitable though, and he was glad that he had enough food in the cabin to last a few days until his men could dig them through.

Gavin watched the snow rise to cover the windows and became very jumpy and panicky, “How will we go out?” he expressed his fear after Burnie had cornered him and asked.

“We won’t. We’ll stay in until the snow melts.”

This answer didn’t seem the make the lad particularly happy.

“In fact,” Burnie had continued, “You might want to actually sleep in the bed tonight. You could get sick if you sleep on the floor.”

Gavin balked at that and quickly scurried around the king to curl up in front of the fire and ignore him.

So let it not be said that Burnie had not warned him when the lad woke up in the middle of the night completely miserable and half out of his mind with fever.

Burnie heard the shivering and muffled coughing in the middle of the night and crawled over to the other side of the bed to peer down at the lad in the dim glow of the firelight. Gavin was shaking beneath his blanket, panting as sweat pooled on his skin. He coughed and wheezed and sniffled, his cheeks a rosy red color and his eyes glazed over, small whines escaping his throat. The king swore and leaned down to feel the lads forehead, nearly pulling his hand back immediately at the intense heat his palm met. He grumbled as he climbed out of bed and around to where Gavin was writhing with fever. The lad was so out of it that he didn’t even notice Burnie’s arms slipping underneath him and picking him up, limply lying in the man’s grip. The king placed him on the bed carefully, swaddling him in the blankets like a newborn. Immediately, Gavin sank into the warmth and his eyes slipped closed, teeth chattering as the fever made him freeze.

Quickly, the king grabbed some cloth and a bucket, carefully opening the door enough to grab some of the snow blocking the exit before closing it again. He placed the bucket near the fireplace and waited for the snow to melt before dipping in the cloth and wringing it out. When he applied the cool, damp fabric to the lad’s forehead, Gavin cried out like it burned him. Burnie was quick to shush him and ran a soothing hand through his hair.

Crawling into the bed, Burnie wrapped his arms around the harlot burrito and held him close, adding to the warmth and pressing gentle and tentative kisses along his neck and the back of his head.

Needless to say, the king didn’t get much sleep.

He was awake when the lad cooled down enough to pass out and he was awake when he woke up in the morning. It was still relatively dark, thanks to the snow, and he wondered when the sun would come out to melt the snow and free them from their prison. He felt Gavin’s chest rapidly rise and fall when he realized where he was but he quickly calmed with an agonized groan as the aches and misery returned in force. The harlot rolled over onto his back and whimpered, covering his eyes, feeling too much like crap to be concerned about sharing a bed with Burnie.

A shudder passed through the boy, “Ugh…”

“Yeah…” Burnie chuckled tiredly, “I told you you’d get sick.”

“Tch…”

“Do you want to feel better?”

There was silence for a moment as the lad mulled over his groggy thoughts but he was suddenly overwhelmed by nausea and Burnie was quick to grab the bucket and hand it to the Brit before the contents of his stomach poured onto the bed. The king rubbed his back soothingly until he finished and pushed the bucket away disgusted.

Burnie set it aside and looked at the lad with concern for a moment before getting out of the bed to fetch some bread and clean water, “Eat the bread so it can settle your stomach and drink the water to get the taste out of your mouth.”

Gavin stared at what the other man offered for a moment before taking it in trembling hands and biting into the bread, grimacing a bit. When Burnie climbed back into the bed, the lad didn’t protest when he wrapped an arm around him to help keep him warm. Exhausted, the boy simply leaned against the older man and trembled from the fever.

To say the king was pleased would be an understatement. He was fucking ecstatic but he controlled it pretty well.

Around noon, The fever hit again with a vengeance and Burnie was wringing put rag after rag of icy water, trying to cool the boy down by applying it to his forehead. He would make soup with the few resources they had and ladle the broth into the lad’s mouth by cradling his head carefully. During the times the fever didn’t have Gavin in the fetal position under the covers, Burnie cuddled with him to keep him warm and would read a few of the books out loud to him. With every chapter, Gavin seemed to be more and more interested, cuddling further into the king’s side.

They were about half way through a classic one night when Gavin started pointing at words and trying to sound them out. Pride bloomed in Burnie’s chest and he helped pronounce them, adding inflections and syllables when necessary. The lad caught on quickly and was much easier to teach than a toddler. It seemed he had retained more information from the girl’s teachings than he originally thought.

Outside the cabin, Monty and his men worked furiously to remove the thickly packed snow from in front of the door. Admittedly the task was only difficult for the 5 days of blizzard onslaught. After the fifth day, though, the sun worked its magic and most of it had melted away by the end of the day. He was the last one to push away the remaining snow and the first one to open the door and see Burnie and his harlot reading a book and cuddled together on the bed.

But the best part of this picture was the lad leaning over the book and following the words with his finger, saying them out loud, “Th-... the w-... world breaks ev- … every-one a-... and af-... af-... afterw-...” He looked back to Burnie for help.

“Afterward.” The king replied with a fond look in his eyes.

“Afterward…” The lad repeated, “Afterward... man-... many are s-... st-... strong at the br-... broken pl-... pla-... play-… plac-... places?” Another questioning glance at Burnie who nodded in agreement. The lad smiled, “Places.”

Burnie ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately, “Good job, buddy.”

Monty folded his arms and smirked, “Well this is a different picture than what I remember.”

The king glanced over at the knight, “He’s getting better. I see the snow has melted. Everyone still with us?”

Monty’s smile dropped and he pursed his lips, “We lost a couple to the cold. Wasn’t much we could do.”

It was silent as Burnie pursed his lips and looked back down to the lad who was looking up at him worriedly, fingers clenched in the fine silks of the shirt the king wore. He sighed then and looked back to Monty, “Okay. Let me go talk to them.” He moved to get out of the bed and left Gavin sitting on his side of the bed, looking vulnerable beneath the covers with his recovering form.

Burnie frowned at him and reached across the bed to feel the lad’s forehead, “Your fever’s down. Do you want to come with me and get some fresh air?”

Gavin’s eyes glanced towards the door, “Outside?” At Burnie’s affirmation, the Brit was carefully climbing out of the bed and toeing his way towards the king.

“Hang on.” The other man, stopped him, holding out a hand to stop the boy, “Here, put these on your feet.” He handed the other a pair of moccasins lined with fur, “And put this on so your fever doesn’t come back.” he moved over to the table by the bedside and pulled up a bag. Reaching in, he pulled out a brown, fur coat that, when Gavin put it on, almost fell to his ankles and buttoned all the way down. It was just a little oversized but comfortable.

The lad looked a little dazed to be so warm outside of the covers of the bed and Burnie ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Ready?” The king asked.

Gavin nodded and settled further into his new clothes.

“Alright then. Lets go outside.” Burnie followed his knight out the door and was greeted by his frantic advisor.

“Your majesty, are you alright? I’m terribly sorry it took so long to get you out. I told these imbeciles to work harder at it.”

The king’s mood soured in an instant, “We’re fine.”

“Thank the higher! I was worried you might not have enough food stocked up and -” The advisor’s eyes wandered behind the king to the harlot tentatively peeking his head out of the door frame, looking around as if he expected to be jumped or caught doing something he shouldn’t have been, “What do you think you’re doing, you little brat?” He spat and Gavin shrank back into the shadow of the house at his words, reaching forward to grip Burnie’s shirt almost in panic.

“Watch your tongue. I told him he could come out.”

“At least put a leash on him, sire. I’m sure the boy will bolt the first chance he gets.”

“We’ve already had a talk about that. He knows what will happen if he does.” Burnie turned back to the harlot, “Come on, Gav.” He started to walk away from the advisor and smiled internally as he felt Gavin move closer to him and hold tighter to his shirt.

The advisor straightened his stance with an annoyed scowl and followed his sovereign over to the guard camp. Monty was already there, giving direction to the remaining members of his squad.

“Monty, you could use a break.” Burnie noted, stopping just behind the other man.

“If I stop now, I won’t continue for awhile.” The knight reminded.

“I’m aware. Take a break from what you’re doing, though. Help Gavin stretch his legs while I get status from this asshole.”

“Your highness?!” The advisor screeched indignantly as Burnie gestured to him with the last word.

A smirk graced Monty’s features and he chuckled, “Yes sir. I can do that.”

“Good.” The king turned to his harlot and knelt down, adjusting the boy’s coat as he spoke, “Monty’s a nice guy. No need to be scared of him. He’ll protect you. Behave okay?”

Gavin nodded and followed the knight away from the king and his advisor.

Monty was very spoken. He was relatively quiet, which was fine by Gavin. The lad was more interested in looking around and exploring trees and piles of snow.

Some time passed, Monty keeping a lazy eye on the harlot as he chased a butterfly through the forest.

It wasn’t until the lad followed the insect into a denser part of the forest that the knight began to worry. He called for the harlot but there was no response.

Suddenly he heard the sound of growling and his hand moved to his sword instinctively.

“Gavin…” He called again.

The only response as the boy’s terrified scream and the sound of running feet and padding paws giving chase. Monty cursed himself for being so careless and ran in the direction of the sounds. Over shrubs and fallen trees, Monty vaulted and sprinted until he burst into a clearing.

Gavin had his back to a sheer cliffside, backing away from a pair of wolves who were clearly eyeing him as their next meal.

The knight unsheathed his sword and ran forward just as the wolves lunged for Gavin and he stumbled back, slipping on the cliff face and starting to tumble over. Monty barely had time to dispatch the wolves in one swing with his sword and catch Gavin’s arm as he fell, screaming.

The screams died way as he realized he wasn’t falling, but it didn’t stop the trembling or the look of terror in his eyes as Monty pulled the boy back onto land carefully.

Fight or flight was still working its impulse through the lad’s mind and Monty had no time to react before the boy was running away from the ledge and away from the knight, leaving the man to chase after him with a sharp curse.

He followed the lad back to camp and froze at what he saw; Burnie looked surprised and his harlot was clinging to him tightly, face in the king’s belly and sobbing and trembling against him.

“What happened?” the king asked, picking up the concubine and holding him close.

“Wolves.” Monty responded, “Nearly shoved him off the cliffs and into the gorge. I saved him but he came running back here.”

“How very careless of you.” The advisor noted before apologizing when Burnie gave him a warning.

The king held Gavin for a moment, calming him with a soothing hand against his back. When the lad’s sobs stopped and his trembling had reduced, Burnie pulled the lad back to look at his face, “Are you okay?”

The boy sniffed and nodded, rubbing his eyes.

He smiled at his harlot brightly before turning to his advisor and his knight, “Lets pack up camp guys. I think we’re ready to go home.”

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burnie starts getting frustrated with Gavin's moody behavior and transition into puberty and Gavin is undergoing a change he doesn't quite understand. All of it boils down to the fact that training can't be put off any longer.
> 
> **There are handjobs in this chapter whoo!**

Returning to the castle was an uneventful journey. Gavin looked curiously outside the carriage window at the forest and still-melting snow while Burnie’s advisor, Gavin had learned from the king was named Lionel Van-Buren, glared daggers at him the whole way.

Apparently, according to Van-Buren, harlots didn’t belong anywhere else but on their knees and certainly shouldn’t have any other feelings besides what makes their master happy. Burnie had already laid down the law that this was not how things were going to be and needless to say, Van-Buren was none too happy about this breach in tradition and slave-owning etiquette.

Fortunately, Gavin wasn’t his slave.

The only real hang-up was at the end of the trip when Burnie opened the carriage doors to a crowd of cheering people welcoming his return.

Gavin had promptly screamed and burst into tears, backing as far back into the carriage as he could. Burnie had to spend a good twenty minutes trying to coax him out from under the seats, but finally the Brit climbed into the king’s arms and held on for dear life, hiding his face in the older man’s neck as he walked through the crowd, greeting his nobles and chatting as a king should.

It wouldn’t be the only incident with Gavin involving crowds but the tipping point of his social terror came at a ball put on quite suddenly by one of the nobles and his wife. Supposedly the king and the noble were friends so Burnie couldn’t say no to him really and the noble was always looking for a reason to drink the castle out of wine and ale.

When Burnie was getting ready for the ball, he dropped the bomb on Gavin that he would be taking him with. As expected, the harlot threw a fit of frustrated tears and “why”s and pleas to just let him stay in the harem quarters. Burnie was quick on the rebuttal.

“Gavin, I enjoy spending time with you and I’d rather have you with me so I can enjoy this party a bit than go by myself and be bored for four hours.”

Gavin hadn’t responded but didn’t put up much more of a fight.

At the party he clung to Burnie’s leg. Despite his stomach’s loud protest, he refused to get up and get food. He shifted uncomfortably, knowing that people were staring at him and eyeing him up, wondering if he was good at what they all thought he was already doing. It was hard to look like he wasn’t pouting.

He was startled by Burnie’s hand in his hair and he looked up with wide eyes.

The king was frowning, “You should go get something to eat, Gavin.”

Gavin bit his lip and shook his head, clutching the older man’s leg tighter and he heard Burnie sigh in response.

It wasn’t too long later that a noble with a scruffy beard, messy dark hair and sleeve tattoos walked up with his similarly tattooed wife who was one of the most beautiful women, Gavin had ever seen. It wasn’t enough to spike through his anxiety though.

One thing he couldn’t help but notice was the full goblet and plate of food that the man carried with him. He wasn’t partaking in any of it.

“How are you liking the party so far, your majesty?” he asked in a slightly pitchy voice.

“You sure know how to throw them.” Burnie replied with a smile.

“Well I’m actually just here for the alcohol. My lovely wife did all the work. She loves doing all the artsy things. She’s really good at it too. Fucking phenomenal.”

“I’m familiar with her work. Thanks for the party, Dutchess.”

The woman nodded, “It was a pleasure, your highness.”

Burnie eyed the other man carefully, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a full glass in your hand.”

“Ah well this isn’t for me.” He set the plate and goblet down at the king’s feet, nearest the harlot before standing and smiling, “We noticed your concubine was a bit shy and hadn’t eaten yet so we decided to bring him something. I made this food myself so it would be an insult to not let everyone try it.”

Gavin’s eyes bugged out both at the gesture and at the mention of a noble cooking his own food. It was inconceivable.

“Well…” Burnie’s hand was suddenly in the harlot’s hair, “He might not say it, but he thanks you for the meal. So do I.”

The noble nodded his head in respect before trailing away towards the alcohol, “Gonna go get the last of the keg before they start putting it away.” He waved as he went.

That was the start of the shell breaking for Gavin. Suddenly more and more people were starting to notice him. They were saying nice things to him, treating him kindly and offering gifts for him to the king. Most were jewelry or embroidered clothing.

It took a little while but within three months, Gavin was comfortable around the people and basking in the attention. They often commented on his innocence and how he was very well-kept; things that would make Burnie smile with pride and smugness. These interactions with the folk solidified his use of the language and Gavin was a fluent speaker very quickly.

There were a few times where one of the civilians got a little too handsy and Gavin made sure to vocalize his discomfort. The situation always resolved itself after that.

The only person who seemed displeased with his progress was Van-Buren who made it a point to angrily announce how spoiled the harlot was and how that should be changed. He was constantly petitioning Burnie to send him to the trainers but the king as quick to dismiss him.

Gavin had to admit as long as nothing changed, he could be happy living like this; as the pretend harlot to a lonely king who made sure he never wanted for anything.

But nothing was ever set in stone no matter how much he was in denial of that fact. Sometimes change is inevitable and sometimes the catalyst was the one person trying to keep things stagnant.

Gavin was a teenager, this was common knowledge. His body was changing rapidly and hormones were making him moody, but worse than that, they were confusing him more than anything. Parts of his body were responding in ways he’d never seen them respond before and to seemingly harmless things like Burnie running his fingers through his hair or a gentle touch on the shoulder to calm a single bout of remaining anxiety. When it came to the king, the harlot found his eyes would linger on certain features and he wasn’t quite sure why. He hadn’t found anything interesting about the physical form of his king before. What changed and why was his body responding to it the way it was; with quickening breath and flutters in his lower belly that made certain muscles tense?

He also noticed he sought out affection from the king regularly. Whether it was climbing insistently into his lap during council meetings until the older man would stroke his back or cuddling against him during any free moment he could find the man alone. Sometimes it felt like if he wasn’t pressed as far into his king’s side as he could be, he would break down and cry. He didn’t know why.

Most often he found his body was incredibly tense in the mornings after spending the night in his king’s bed.

When they had returned to the kingdom after the Great Blizzard that temporarily closed the pass, Gavin had found that he couldn’t sleep in the large harem quarters. It was too big and empty and while the cushioned floor was a comfortable luxury, he was already used to being cuddled and swaddled in warmth by Burnie and his… rather large arms. The king was more than happy to share his bed but the longer this went on the more frustrated he seemed to get with it.

Burnie knew exactly what was happening and knew Gavin was equally confused by it. The lad was having wet dreams and using the king as the inanimate object to rut against and relieve the hormonal pressure.

This night was no different for the lad.

He woke to Gavin shifting in his sleep, tossing and turning, frustrated whimpers slipping past his lips. He turned towards his king and clung tightly but it didn’t stop there. Eventually Gavin climbed atop Burnie and whimpered, panting up a storm and bucking his hips, fingers tugging at the royal robes and erection felt plainly through the lad’s blue-gold waist wrap.

The king sighed and let him suffer for a moment, before pity overtook him. He remembered what it was like to be a young and randy teenager. So Burnie sat up a bit, careful not to wake the lad, and adjusted him slightly before lightly running his fingers down the lad’s spine, watching the goosebumps appear and the shivers wrack his form. All it took was a simple flick at the clasp for the wrap to fall open and reveal the lad’s perfectly round ass. Burnie couldn’t complain about that part really. Or how, when he licked his thumb and ran the digit over Gavin’s entrance delicately, using his free hand to spread him open, Gavin jolted and keened, mouth falling slack and brows furrowing.

Burnie trailed his fingers from the base of his entrance, down following his perineum to cup his balls and massage them gently. It didn’t normally take long after that point for Gavin to wake, eyes glazed as his king’s fist loosely circled his length and stroked softly.

The lad spluttered into consciousness, eyes glazed and pupils fully blown as he pulled back, only for Burnie’s free hand to catch the back of his head and hold him cradled, tightening his fist and stroking more fervently.

“S-sire! I-... _hah_ … I-...”

“Shh… It’s okay.”

Gavin seemed to let go then, eyes rolling back as they closed and his hips jerked in time with Burnie’s hand. It took all of a minute before he stiffened and cried out, coming over both their stomachs.

As he panted and came down from orgasm, Gavin whined and curled into himself as much as he could until Burnie pulled him close, uncaring of the mess between them, and tucked the lad’s hair out of his face, kissing his forehead.

“Shh. It’s okay. You’re okay. I’m right here.”

And at that utterance, Gavin resumed his clinging and let exhaustion overtake him.

Of course, this left Burnie to scowl at how hard he was himself and what little he could do about it with the harlot on top of him still, untrained at that.  
It had been a couple months now and these incidents were coming more frequently. The king suddenly found himself more moody than usual what from lack of sleep and constant sexual frustration. In the back of his mind he knew it was time but breaking the news was going to be a lot harder than he wanted to acknowledge. Regardless they had reached that stage. It had to be done or the council would start to grow suspicious.

With that thought the king held his breath as he finally fell asleep and released it in the morning when he was dressing in his royal day robes, staring at the lad still sleeping in the bed behind him in the vanity mirror.

Finally Gavin stirred and sat up, stretching and yawning before casting him a bright if sleepy smile, “Morning, Burnie~.”

Burnie grunted noncommittally, adjusting his broach before turning around and leaning against the vanity, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

The lad seemed to sense something was amiss and instantly shied into a timid, less cheery persona. It reminded the king of a puppy who had been scolded and flattened its ears against its head in submission, “What’s wrong?”

The king folded his arms and sighed heavily, “I think its time…”

There was a quiet moment where Burnie could actually watch the blood drain from the harlot’s face before he responded, “... T-time for what exactly, sire?”

Burnie pursed his lips for a moment, “Time to start training you for your role…”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 of training: Luring Gavin in with orgasms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated UH for 'Underage Handjobs'  
> Its short and sweet but I promised there'd be smut in this fic dammit

The reaction wasn't immediate… but it also wasn't subtle. Burnie felt proud of himself for making the necessary preparations. Unfortunately it probably meant there was going to be a lot of screaming until he could calm the lad down.

Currently, Gavin was trying to meld himself into the headboard and if Burnie so much as shifted his weight he would damn near start hyperventilating. He had already tried to run out the door, only to find it locked with a key and the way to the harem chambers was blocked by Burnie himself, sitting backwards on a chair looking bored.

Eventually the silence got to the harlot.

“Why are you just sitting there?”

“Because you’re going to hurt yourself if I come closer.”

Gavin scoffed, “You’re going to hurt me!”

Burnie blinked slowly, “How do you figure?” He hadn't factored in that the lad was more terrified of the pain that came with training than his pride or dignity. The fact that he was as spoiled rotten as they come didn't help either.

The harlot spluttered, “You just-... I mean… Training is… It hurts!”

“With the trainers, yeah. Its fucking torture. That’s why I bought you. To keep you away from that.”

Gavin twitched, “I don’t believe you. it's going to hurt. I don’t want to hurt.”

Burnie sighed, “I told you this would be an eventual thing. Some advisers are scrutinizing our lack of exhibitionism and that’s putting both of us in a fragile position. If the council calls for a show of power, usually it means exercising all your… toys…” He winced at the word, “You don’t want your first time to be then. Nor do you want them to realize you’re untrained and send you to the handlers to break you in. If they demand it, not even I can stop it without causing imbalance and protest. Its bullshit but that’s our society for you. I’m trying to give you an out to make this as easy as possible and you’re throwing it back in my face.” He shook his head then, “But I can understand you being scared. I don’t understand why you can’t trust me when I say I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

Gavin was listening but he was still trembling on the bed and when Burnie stood, he flinched and shrank back further, but didn't try to run.

The king recognized this as progress and took slow steps towards the lad, “Do you remember your dreams?” the lad didn't answer but Burnie could tell by the blush on his cheeks that he did, “I can make it feel good. Like that. Instead of hurting, you could enjoy it.” unfortunately those weren't the words that were getting through to the boy and the king decided to try another approach, “Do you care about me, Gavin? I care about you a lot, you know. Don’t know if I've said it before.”

“You’re a king. You feel nothing more for me than any other of your other _toys_.” Gavin snapped.

“If that were true, I would have sent you to the trainers a long time ago.” The Brit shifted uncomfortably as Burnie reached the edge of the bed and sat down, “Answer the question. Do you feel anything for me?”

A worried sound escaped Gavin’s throat, “I don’t…” He scooted a little farther away, “I… I feel safe when I’m around you... Most times. You’re the only one I want to be around… and I… I don’t know… You help me sleep at night. You've helped me so much. I don’t know what that means.”

“That’s okay.” Burnie said softly, reaching a hand out and setting it gently on Gavin’s knee in a reassuring gesture, “For me, I feel a great need to keep you safe and near. I enjoy taking care of you and spending time with you and I’d much rather it be me training you than someone who is going to break you down and turn you into something you aren't. It’d be a damn shame if I let that happen, Gav.” He watched the lad bite his lip and look away, “Listen. I won’t do anything extensive. I’ll go slow and I won’t let it hurt. You’ll get more out of it than I will for a while anyway and I’ll let you pick the things you’re curious about for the first couple of days. You just need to think about this as something two people who care about each other do together. It shows you care and I do care, Gav. I want to show you. I just need you to trust me.” He held out a hand and watched Gavin consider, “Let me take care of you… please.”

The lad stared at the offered hand, suspicious and obviously scared, but weighing his options. They were telling him what he already knew and Burnie could see the build-up of tears behind his suddenly glassy eyes. He looked away as he slowly reached out and accepted the king’s hand, sniffling to keep himself from crying.

Burnie frowned and stroked his thumb over the back of the boy’s hand before gently tugging him closer.

Gavin’s breath hitched but he followed the direction with minimal resistance, raising up to knee-walk closer and stare at the comforter with a trembling lower lip.

Gently, the king raised his hand to cup the boy’s cheek, thumbing over the wobbly lip before curling the hand around his jaw and pulling him in close, their noses almost brushing.

“Do you know what kissing is?”

Gavin’s already red face deepened in color but he nodded.

“Kissing can be nice. It shows affection.” Burnie leaned in, guiding the boy by the jaw to close the distance and ignoring the way his breathing kicked up, his eyes cinched tight, and his hands balled into fists at his side, “Like this.” and then their lips were pressed together. He felt the boy hold his breath and keep his lips pressed tight together, but all it really took was a firm, yet gentle grip on his head, tilting him back a bit and a swipe of his tongue against that trembling lip and the lad’s mouth opened right up.

There was a tiny whine, almost a moan, and Gavin’s mouth was moving with his king’s, pressing and sliding together, accepting wet muscle and tentatively stroking back with his own. His hands raised, fingers gripping against the silk on Burnie’s chest, simultaneously pulling himself closer and pushing himself away.

Before either side of the conflict could win out, Burnie’s hands suddenly gripped around the back of his thighs and lifted, effectively pulling the boy’s legs out from under him and around his king’s waist, the older man pinning the boy lightly with his own body on the bed.

Gavin gasped then, pulling back with wide, panicked eyes and trembling beneath the warm weight of the king.

Burnie took his time to catch his own breath, staring down at the lad with narrowed eyes, “You’ve done that before.”

“Y-yes…” the lad replied shakily.

“When?”

“Dan… the boy I was with when I was caught. We used to… We kissed a lot… before he was… Before…” Gavin’s breath hitched in his chest and he looked down and away, but Burnie’s hand was there on his jaw again, turning him back and kissing him.

The older man was nestled between the lad’s legs and as he adjusted himself, his hips pushed against the younger’s, causing him to gasp and arch slightly, breaking the kiss and whining.

“Did I hurt you?” Burnie asked, adjusting himself gently.

“N-no…”

The flush on the boy’s cheeks provided understanding for the king who smiled a bit and leaned back, “Just lay still for now, okay?”

“But-”

“I’m just touching. I promise.”

Gavin swallowed and lay back, fingers moving to grip the bed covers as Burnie’s thumbs stroked reassuringly at the exposed skin of his waist. Then he leaned back in and kissed him as if trying to loosen him up a little. It didn't really work but then again, it didn't really need to, not with what his hands started doing.

Burnie's fingers slid gently over tanned skin, pressing and pushing in the same way that their lips were molding together. They danced over every exposed piece he could reach and with the silky waist wrap that Gavin was wearing that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, there was a lot to touch.

And then even the fabric was gone, leaving Gavin completely nude beneath his king. He trembled when Burnie pulled back again to look at him with a gentle smiles, legs trying to cross and hands trying to protect his dignity. His hands were batted away and there was suddenly a careful weight on top of him. He whined, confused and nervous, but Burnie only held him and pressed soft kisses to his ear and neck.

Eventually his hands started roaming again. Up and down the lad’s sides with a feather light touch. Barely a whisper of of his thumbs against the inside of his thighs while lips pressed open-mouthed along his neck and collarbone.

Gavin couldn't deny the sensations and heat and where it was all pooling. Soon, Burnie’s weight became uncomfortable and he whined louder, trying to buck the man off but only succeeding in causing a flash of pleasure over his skin that stole his breath and caused an instinctive rutting of his hips.

When Burnie finally did ease up his weight, he had resorted to light nips and sucking against the younger’s neck, fingers now favoring the lines of his hips, carefully out-skirting the now hard and aching parts of the boy.

Gavin’s fingers were fisting in the sheets and his eyes were closed, panting shamelessly, yet unsure of what to do to help himself.

The king pulled back and the harlot was too distracted to find out why until a slick hand wrapped around that throbbing part of him and stroked once. Even then all he could do was keen loudly and Burnie pulled up a little to appreciate the expression on his face.

The king’s other hand slipped around to cradle the lad’s head and pull him close enough that his lips fluttered against Gavin’s ear as he spoke, “You’re doing so well, Gav; being so good for me.” He began a slow, steady rhythm, feeling the boy writhe against him and buck up into his hand with little whimpers of confused frustration, “I’m gonna reward you for it.”

“P-please…” The word was half moaned, half gasped and he scrambled to pull himself closer to the king’s warmth and bury his flushed face in his silk-clad chest.

Burnie had to laugh at the plea, “I doubt you know what you’re asking for, but you’re asking anyway.” He nipped the delicate skin behind Gavin’s ear, “Not much longer, buddy. Just relax.”

Gavin’s face turned into the pillow before turning back towards Burnie, mindlessly wanting. Burnie was happy to oblige, slanting his mouth over the lad’s and kissing him deeply. The pressure Gavin felt building was unlike anything he had experienced outside of semi-consciousness before. He could barely remember those moments of half-confused lucidity when he would wake to find the king’s hand on him, helping him through a dream. Those memories paled in comparison to what was happening with him now. He could hardly control himself and as much as it was terrifying, he understood it as instinct, bucking in time with the pumps of the king’s hand and chasing down whatever this building feeling was in his lower belly.

It felt good honestly, and he didn't know why he had fought so hard against it.

His toes curled and he pulled back from Burnie’s mouth suddenly to gasp as that pressure came to a head and twisted inside him tighter than wire. There was a moment of fear and uncertainty where the tightening paused as if it couldn't tighten any further and then it snapped and wave after wave of ecstasy was flooding his system from his belly.

He gasped and choked on the sounds in his throat but Burnie was there to catch and hold him close, murmuring praises in his ear.

_Good boy…_

The warmth that spread over him, body humming happily as the world stopped spinning, made him reevaluate his situation. He swallowed as he caught his breath and looked over to Burnie who was smiling even though it looked a bit strained. The other man reached over to the nightstand to pull a cloth out of the drawer proceeding to wipe up the mess of white that stained Gavin’s stomach.

The lad scrunched his nose up at the sight, but Burnie didn't seem to mind it so it must have been a normal thing.

He honestly didn't know what to think about what had just transpired, but Burnie had called it his training and he had to admit that he felt amazing right now. If this was all training entailed, Gavin thought it was something he could definitely get behind.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training is in full swing and it has its ups and downs, but failing to listen to the king can get you into some serious shit and when he give and order it better be followed. If it isn't...  
> Oh Gavin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally smut of the actual nature. No dicks in butts yet. That's later. BUT a fair warning I guess. Gav is about 15 and being trained in the carnal arts (finally) so warnings there.  
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave me some feedback!

It seemed to Gavin that Burnie had an entire routine planned out for them during the duration of his training.

Everyday just before bed, the king would be sure to catch the lad by the arm and pull him close for another “lesson” and for the first few days it wasn't so bad. Gavin could even say he enjoyed it, stopping his minimal resistance and distance and actually waiting on the bed for Burnie to tell him what to do.

It wasn't only hand-jobs either, though they were plenty. Burnie said repetition was a good way of remembering what to do and training his muscle memory. He also showed him that the bucking of his hips was natural and that even without touching it could bring the same feelings as his hands.

Gavin’s favorite days were when the king would demonstrate how to use his mouth to get those feelings. He felt strange with wet muscle rubbing against his hole and squirmed with it but the sensation was undeniably good and he would always come a little harder and a little sooner than he would with Burnie’s hand. When Burnie engulfed his cock in the velvet heat of his mouth, it was all the lad could do to stop from coming instantly.

Of course the attention couldn't remain on him forever. He was expected to please his owner, not the other way around.

Burnie called it his “grace period” which allowed him to get used to the new sensations and add them to his experience so he could try to emulate them in the future.

He knew it was coming but it still didn't prepare him when he came down from the high of orgasm one night to find his king naked and rock hard, stroking his cock expectantly.

Panic flushed those endorphins away faster than anything he could think of and he heard himself yelp in shock and fear, scooting back up the bed and away from Burnie who froze, startled and confused.

“ _That_ -... You want to put _that_ in _me_?!” He shrieked. The size was impressive; much larger than his own and would clearly paralyze him.

“Gavin…” The frustration was slowly seeping into the king’s tone.

“I couldn't possibly be able to take that! It would tear me apart!” He couldn't hide the way his form shook at the thought of the king’s cock being forced inside any part of his body.

“You would be well prepared beforehand, Gav. Besides, none of that is happening now.” Burnie quickly had a hold on the lad’s arm to keep him from running off, “It’s time to start learning how to do what I've been showing you for yourself. It’s dead easy. Just do to me what I've been doing to you. You’ll be fine.”

“I can’t-... I’m not ready for this, Burnie, please… I-...”

It was obvious that Gavin was on the verge of hyperventilation and Burnie pressed his lips into a thin line before releasing the lad’s arm, face relaxing with a sigh, “Okay, Gavin. Not tonight.”

The relief that flowed from the concubine was palpable in the air but Burnie didn't move to put his pants on.

“I’m not redressing. You have until tomorrow to be ready.” The king settled onto the bed next to the lad and proceeded to wrap a hand around himself to get off.

True to his word, Burnie cornered him the next night, stripping them both down and getting the lad off in record time.

Gavin was still recovering when Burnie leaned back on the bed and stared at him expectantly. The lad didn't miss the gold glint of his leash wrapped several times around the king’s wrist; a warning that tonight, he wasn't playing games. His expression was soft though and he held a hand out, inviting Gavin closer instead of demanding it.

Tentatively, Gavin took the hand and scooted closer, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

Burnie didn't hesitate to gently pull Gavin in for a kiss with a hand on the back of his head. He pulled away after a few seconds and smiled gently, “Just think of it as an exploration. No need to be nervous. I’ll be right here to guide you.”

Gavin swallowed but nodded all the same, shifting. He couldn't deny that he was a tiny bit curious about his king.

_Just do to me what I've been doing to you…_

It sounded so simple but honestly he was terrified of being so bad and doing so horribly that there would be no choice but to send him to the handlers. But Burnie promised to be patient and help him out. The Higher only knew how much patience he had already expended.

Thick and gentle fingers carded through Gavin’s hair and he leaned into the touch, seeking comfort for his anxiety. He moved closer to Burnie, feeling the heat radiating from the older man like a furnace, warm and consoling.

“Can I just…” He began, ducking his face down and burying it in the king’s chest, fingers balling into a fist against the other man’s thigh, “I just… can I have a minute? Please?”

“Of course, Gav.” Burnie replied, keeping his fingers running softly through the lad’s hair.

“I’m sorry, I just… I don’t want to mess up.”

Burnie’s fingers faltered for a moment as if he didn't expect that admission, then continued, “You’ll be fine. It’s why this is called training.” he ducked down and placed a kiss on the lad’s head, “Start here.” He took Gavin’s hand on his thigh and placed it on his chest, holding it there for a moment until the fingers uncurled from their fisted position and rested against his pectoral lightly.

They stayed that way for a moment, Burnie’s thumb stroking the back of Gavin’s hand on his chest and Gavin’s soft breath ghosting over his skin.

By the time Gavin’s hand tentatively moved to brush Burnie’s shoulder, Burnie was only half-hard and nearly dozing.

Gavin’s fingers trembled but only slightly and he traced the lines on Burnie’s shoulder and trailed down to his chest, shifting only to trace the other shoulder. He kept looking up at Burnie to see if this was right but by that time, the king had leaned back and closed his eyes to savor the feeling of being touched by hands other than his own; a feeling he hadn't experienced in a very long time.

Swallowing, the lad began to follow his fingers with kisses, feeling bolder once he began to travel lower and heard Burnie’s breath hitch.

The king was once again excited and, by the time Gavin reached his hips, he was watching intently, eyes dilated and hungry.

Until that point, Gavin had avoided looking at the older man’s erection but it was obvious that this was the main point of the training; taking care of the king.

Burnie’s hand, which had fallen from the lad’s head, wove back into the strands and stroked gently in encouragement.

Eyes wide, Gavin looked up, fingers flexing and suddenly unsure what to do, seeking guidance.

Burnie, picked up a vial of oil on the nightstand and gestured to Gavin’s hand, holding his own out, palm-up, inviting.

Gavin supplied his hand and watched as the oil poured from the vial and into his palm. It was thick and viscous; slick but not sticky. There was a faint, pleasant scent in the air after the vial was opened. It smelled like strawberries and, confused, Gavin sniffed at the oil, only to find the scent stronger. He looked to Burnie, who shrugged.

“One of the duchesses made it for me.”

Gavin bit his lip and flexed his fingers again until Burnie gave him a gentle look and grabbed his slick hand with one grip and his chin with the other, leaning forward to connect their lips while he guided that hand towards his length. He wrapped their fingers around himself and began a steady, slow stroke until Gavin got the hint and started doing it himself.

Burnie cradled the lad’s face then and whispered praises into his ear, hiding his grunts of pleasure behind kisses to the shell, “You’re doing so well, Gav. Such a good boy. Keep going.”

Try as he might, Gavin couldn't prevent the pleased flush that spread through him at the words. His skin tingled in response and it was strange, but not bad.

The oil was very warm in his palm now and he couldn't help but wonder why the king had chosen to use a different kind of oil this night than any of the other night the oil had been used on his own cock instead. The scent of strawberries was making him salivate and he had to swallow a few times to keep from drooling.

Gavin looked down at his hand working Burnie’s cock and bit his lip, moving slowly but purposefully out of the man’s grasp and towards his waist.

Burnie fell silent then, almost holding his breath, it seemed, and Gavin watched his toes curl in anticipation.

The harlot hesitated when he looked at the hard flesh between the older man’s legs, looking up at him to see if this was alright, if he was on the right track.

Burnie nodded and spoke softly, “Go slow. Don’t try to take it all at once or you’ll choke.”

Gavin nodded and leaned closer, swallowing before brushing his tongue against the tip.

For an instant he froze, eyes wide in surprise, then they fluttered closed and he moaned, _actually moaned_ at the taste. The damn oil even _tasted_ like strawberries! What kind of magic was this?!

There was a hand in his hair again as he swiped his tongue another time, becoming more and more bold and licking around the soft cock head and up the shaft fervently to get more of that lingering taste on his tongue.

Burnie’s wavering breath acted as praise in the same way as his words and the tightening of his fingers in the lad’s hair contributed as well.

Confidence spread through Gavin quickly and he wrapped his lips around the king’s cock, swirling his tongue around before trying to take more.

Almost instantly he started choking, muscles spasming and frozen until Burnie pulled him off and frantically tried to get him to breathe.

“Deep breaths, Gav. C’mon.”

Finally, the lad was able to take a gasping breath and lean against Burnie’s chest for support, hearing the wildly beating pulse beneath his ear. There were tears in his eyes from the pain of his convulsing throat but, slowly, he regained the ability to breathe normally.

After a moment, he cleared his throat and spoke quietly but was unable to hide the gravel in his voice, “S-sorry…”

Burnie’s hand was stroking his back soothingly and he pressed a kiss to Gav’s temple before responding, “It’s fine. You’re still learning. Just remember not to take so much at once. We can work on that later.”

“Okay.”

The king was quiet after that, patiently rubbing the lad’s back but it was obvious he was still aching and hard and Gavin felt bad about it. He looked back up at the man before moving down to where he had been and proceeding with small licks like before and mouthing at the tip.

Burnie grunted in approval and appreciation, grabbing his hair again, a little tighter this time, while his other hand fisted so hard in the bedsheets that Gavin could see the tendons straining in his peripheral.

“U-use your hands too, Gav.” Burnie instructed and Gavin obliged, using his already slick hand to stroke what he couldn’t fit in his mouth.

Gavin’s jaw was hurting by the time Burnie’s hand tightened in his hair and pulled him off. He looked up to the older man, confused to see his head tilted back, and his chest shuddering with wavered breaths. His hand stopped its movement and the king nearly growled at him to continue the motion. So continue he did until Burnie tensed and grunted, then sighed as he came over Gavin’s fingers.

The harlot frowned at his hands until Burnie chuckled breathlessly and used a rag to clean him up. He pulled Gavin into his arms and held him close, kissing his head and cheek in post-coital affection. The lad closed his eyes and enjoyed the tenderness while the king murmured praise to him, “You did so well, Gav.”

“I did?” Gavin asked quietly.

Burnie responded by turning his face to kiss him properly.

Gavin whimpered, slightly and curled closer to Burnie after the other man let his lips go, “Is that all I have to do?” he asked, hopeful. When he didn’t receive an answer, he looked up to find Burnie’s lips pursed. It was all the answer he needed and he looked away, dejectedly.

Of course it wasn’t.

He felt the other man sigh and shift them both so they were under the covers, his body cradled by Burnie’s.

Warm and safe, Gavin fell asleep that way, turning halfway through the night in Burnie’s arms to bury his face in his shoulder.

And still, the routine continued. Every night right before bed, they would end the day with blowjobs and handjobs.

The nightly orgasms did wonders for the king’s mood and Gavin was much more affectionate with Burnie than before, preferring to curl into his king’s lap and press kisses to his neck and cheek when he was allowed. Otherwise he would lean against his leg and doze.

But it didn’t take long for the king’s duties to make Burnie busier than ever and sometimes that threw a wrench into their routine; Burnie too tired to do much more than cuddle his harlot and pass out. By that time, Gavin was anticipating their nightly ritual, even looking forward to it and seeking it out when the king would walk into his room at night.

Burnie would always have a strange mix of pride and arousal on his face and could never deny him when Gavin asked no matter how tired he was. He never thought he’d be able to see the lad truly comfortable around him in bed but he relaxed into this part of it easily and even joked around with him.

A week or two passed this way and that was what made this night such a surprise.

The fact that Gavin had been seeking out this affection made Burnie believe that he was ready for the next step. He was no longer a stranger to giving and receiving pleasure. It was well past time.

The oil was on the nightstand as normal, Gavin pinned beneath Burnie as they rutted against each other and kissed like hormone-crazed teenagers which was about half-right.

When Burnie slipped down the lad’s body and pulled him to the edge of the bed so he could kneel on the floor and have better access to the lower half of the slight body beneath him, Gavin sighed and spread his legs, expecting the king to do what he normally did and use his mouth on him.

Gavin kept his eyes closed and moaned as he felt Burnie’s tongue lick a broad stripe over his hole. Somehow that was alright. It felt perfect every other time and made him squirm in unbridled pleasure so why not? The tinkling of the glass vial of oil was a normal sound in this situation too, frequently proceeded by a slick hand wrapped around his cock. It was another blissful sensation and he arched a bit into the touch when he felt it, his happy sigh turning into a moan when Burnie chastised him for staying quiet.

What wasn’t normal, and therefore grounds for panic, was the slick finger that started poking around his hole and pushing in, causing an uncomfortable burn that pumped the brakes on all his pleasure.

He yelped and scrambled back up the bed, away from Burnie, nearly kicking him in the face in the process.

Said king was frozen in confusion, hands still in their original positions.

Gavin was breathing fast, trying to calm his wildly beating heart and sudden panic but his thoughts weren’t helping much. Fingers meant preparation for other things. That was what his experience so far had taught him and it meant a change in their routine.

He didn’t want it to change! Everything was fine as it was! Why did they have to try anything new? Why did they have to do it at all? Wasn’t this enough?

Burnie’s eyes narrowed and he stood, pursing his lips, “Gavin...”

Hearing his name made him whimper and he tried to back away further only to be thwarted by the uncooperative bedsheets.

This made it easy for the king to grab his calf and pull him back down to the edge of the bed.

“No!” Gavin shrieked, trying to kick away but Burnie growled, actually growled at him and hooked a finger through the d-ring of his collar, pulling him up a bit to get his attention.

“Do _not_ forget who you’re talking to… _You don’t say ‘no’ to me._ ” The king said lowly and Gavin trembled. Rank had never been pulled before.

Gavin knew then he was in a massive amount of trouble.

“P-please! I don’t want... I just-”

“I don’t care _what_ you want. I have been more than accommodating these past couple weeks.” Burnie snapped sternly.

Gavin squirmed, gripping at Burnie’s hand and feeling a prick in his eyes of fear and humiliation, “Please… Can’t we just… keep things as they are?”

“No.”

The simple word poured ice through the lad’s veins and he froze, eyes wide as he felt his breathing all but stop.

“I never kept that from you. You knew this was coming. Why are you acting this way?”

“I-I’m not ready.”

“Bullshit. You’re stalling.”

Gavin flinched at the harsh words and their truth. He could still feel the oil around his hole and he squirmed as it tingled, “The…” He swallowed, looking for more excuses, “I don’t like the oil. It makes me feel weird.”

“The oil isn’t negotiable and it’s not the problem.”

Also true. He underestimated the king’s ability to see right through him.

“We go through this every damn time I do something different. You panic and spend the next week hiding from me.” Burnie sighed and shook his head, “It’s getting old.”

Something twisted in Gavin’s chest then, a realization at those words that dwarfed the panic with terror. He could barely get his next question out from the lack of oxygen in his lungs and he could feel hot tears spill over onto his cheeks, “Are you g-going to s-send me to… t-to _them?”_ Part of him wanted to beg for forgiveness but the other part was too damn stubborn and scared. This moment came too fast for rational thought and when Burnie’s expression blanked at the question, Gavin closed his eyes, and covered them with his hands, tears flowing freely and a sob ripping from his throat as he shook, “P-please… S-sorry… I’m… s-sorry…”

“Gavin…” The name came softly and suddenly he was wrapped in Burnie’s arms, crying against his shoulder, “I’m trying to keep you from them. But you’re not really making it easy on me.”

“S-sorry… ‘m sorry… Please-” Gavin’s chin was tilted up suddenly and the king kissed him gently, halting his apologies and pleas.

He was settled back in the covers, Burnie slowly keeping him focused on the kiss as a free hand wandered. It helped for a little while until he felt the finger poking around again and that same panic flared up.

He broke the kiss with a gasp and struggled, crying hysterically and pushing at Burnie, “I can’t- Burnie, please! I can’t- I’m sorry. I can’t- please!”

He could almost hear the king grind his teeth together in frustration but his hands were gentle as he grabbed the lad’s arms and held them to his chest, “Calm down, Gav. It’s okay.”

“No… No, you’re going to send me away... I’m sorry… Please…”

“I’m not sending you anywhere. Just relax.” Burnie sighed, shifting back onto the bed and off of the harlot. They were both soft by this point and it was obvious that they weren’t getting anywhere tonight.

He sat back against the headboard and ran a hand over his face in frustration. The flicker of the oil lamps cast dancing, golden shadows over the tanned skin at the foot of the bed, curled in on itself and trembling, and he watched with slight disappointment a small pout pushing out his lips.

After a short while, Gavin sat up, sniffling and wiping at his eyes, looking to the king, ashamed. He swallowed once before tentatively moving closer.

The older man couldn’t help a single chuckle escaping and shook his head before reaching forward and grabbing the lad around his waist, settling him in his lap. He found he could never stay angry with the boy for too long.

“I’m sorry…” Gavin said again softly, curling against Burnie’s chest as thick fingers threaded through his hair.

Burnie only sighed in response, leaning his head back against the headboard and closing his eyes.

There was a short moment of silence and then Gavin asked hesitantly, “C-can we still do the other things?”

The king opened one eye and looked down at the lad, debating whether or not to say no and punish him further. It was clear he needed to establish a system. Finally, he came to a decision, “You can put your mouth to good use, but you’re not allowed to come tonight.”

Gavin spluttered, “What? Why? I-”

“You failed today’s training, Gav. From this point on that will be your punishment for failure. Until you pass training, you’re not allowed to get off at all and have to stay in the harem quarters the whole day. If I find out you’ve come by your own hands, your further punishment will be spending the day with me with your hands tied and your cock ringed with me touching you throughout the day.”

Gavin’s jaw was nearly dragging the bedsheets his expression damn near horrified, “Even-”

“Even in public view.” Burnie smirked a bit, “I kinda want you to disobey just so I get to watch you squirm a bit.”

“W-what happens if I come during that?”

“I have other ways to punish you. They aren’t as fun. If you keep disobeying, you know the only other thing I can do. Do you really want to risk it?”

Gavin swallowed and looked away, his face burning.

“Listen, Gav. The best thing to do would be abandon your stubbornness and try to pass training. Your reward is coming however many times you want. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Gavin swallowed, “What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to be ready every night to pass your training. That means no fighting and approaching even new things with an open and eager attitude.

Gavin fidgeted in frustration, “I can’t-...”

Burnie yawned then, interrupting and ruffling the lad’s hair, “Worry about it tomorrow. I’m gonna go ahead and go to bed.”

The harlot’s voice raised in pitch, “But you just told me to-!.... Burnie!” He squeaked as the king pushed him onto the other side of the bed and rolled over, wiggling under the covers.

That was the last that Gavin was going to hear from Burnie for the evening, (besides soft snoring probably), so with a huff, the lad slipped under the sheets and curled up on his side of the bed to sleep.

For Gavin, the next day was spent lounging around the harem quarters in boredom and agitation. He snapped at the servants who brought him food and gnawed the corner of a pillow, trying to keep from rutting against it.

He had woken with Burnie kissing his neck and of course that made other parts of him interested, but the the king had smacked him lightly on the ass and dressed before leaving him baffled and alone on the bed. Through a haze, Gavin remembered the previous night and how he wasn’t allowed to leave the harem quarters so he trudged into the pillowy room to grumble and glower.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if he could stop thinking about his king and how, after receiving such lovely treatment for the past couple weeks, his dick would not _calm down._

He hid the obvious tent in his chiffon-like pants with one of the massive pillows and chewed on the corner when he really wanted to wrap a hand around his cock and come.

Apparently having nightly orgasms and then suddenly having none made self-control a bitch.

He was laying on his belly, dozing off when Burnie got ahold of him. One moment he was lounging and the next, both of his arms were grabbed and pinned behind his back. He yelped and tried to squirm free, but felt cuffs lock into place around his wrists.

Gasping for breath in his fright, a hand flipped him over and revealed the king’s grinning face.

“Hey, buddy!” He said excitedly, “Having a good day?”

As soon as he saw Burnie, Gavin relaxed a bit and took a deep breath before answering petulantly, “No.”

“Aww, what’s wrong?” The older man’s voice dropped a few octaves it seemed before he palmed at Gavin’s crotch, “Did you come after I told you not to?”

“N-no- _nnn_ …” Gavin tried to curl into himself to fight off the touch but Burnie’s free hand was on one thigh, making it difficult, “I’ve been good… Please…”

“Let’s see if you can be even better first.” Burnie picked up the lad and carried him into the bedroom, dropping him on the bed, “So here’s how this is going to work.” He set his crown aside on the nightstand while Gavin struggled to find footing on the edge of the bed frame. He set a small wooden box next to the crown before taking off his coat and grabbing a vial of oil, “Griffon made me a few different size plugs so we’ll do this in stages. I’ll work you up one finger at a time and stretch you out enough to put the appropriate plug in. You are to wear that plug until lunch the next day and only take it out to use the bathroom. After it’s in, we’ll finish the night up with you sucking me off. Sound good?”

“N-No!-”

“It wasn’t a request, Gavin.” The king sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Gavin’s pants down and away before dragging the lad into his lap facing him, making sure the boy’s legs were dangling on either side of his. He crossed his own legs at the ankles so the lad had nowhere to move and he had easier access to what he was after.

Gavin squawked like mad during the whole process but eventually resorted to whining and squirming. Burnie let him until the Brit realized he had nowhere to go and slumped onto Burnie’s shoulder, pouting and panting.

The older man chuckled, “You make this out to be such a horrible thing but you know I won’t let it hurt so, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why you fight it.”

“I don’t want anything in me.”

“Too bad.”

Gavin huffed and wiggled some more, “Why didn’t you take your clothes off?”

“I don’t need to just yet. You can do that later.” the king poured some oil on one hand and spread it around to warm it up a little, "For now-..." The slick hand reached around the lad, gripping an ass cheek hard for a moment before moving to its target, "-we should work on getting your plug in."

Gavin screeched, trying to squirm away from the alien sensation of a wet finger circling his hole but had nowhere to go but into Burnie’s chest, “Burnie! Please!” He struggled but only succeeded in grinding his hips against the king’s which caused a moan to release from his throat. Surprisingly, he was as hard as ever and he shut his eyes tight, trying to will all the sensations away.

Burnie’s finger was slow as it coated the lad’s hole in the oil. After a while, he sat back and watched Gavin’s face using his thumb to slowly ease the liquid inside the lad and shaking his head when he clenched up, “The tighter you wind, the harder it’s going to be.” He said patiently, “I need you to trust me and relax.”

Gavin whined and squirmed more, refusing to listen.

The king sighed and pushed the lad into his shoulder before beginning to push his finger in.

As expected, the harlot clenched himself and yelped, but Burnie’s hold was secure and even as Gavin jumped against him, trying to squirm away, he kept pushing. By the time his finger was all the way inside, the Brit was panting and shivering, whinging against Burnie’s shoulder.

“Burnie, it hurts…” He whimpered.

The king snorted and shook his head, “I told you to relax. I know it’s uncomfortable but if you had listened to me, it wouldn’t be as bad.” He pulled the finger out just a bit before pushing it back in slowly, “Just relax. You’ll get used to the feeling.Take a deep breath and unclench yourself.”

Gavin swallowed and steadied himself for a minute, before finally listening to his king and taking a deep, shaky breath and then exhaling.

Burnie felt the way the lad’s muscles slowly, and hesitantly relaxed, the muscles around his finger periodically tensing again, but soon, Gavin was boneless against him though the tension remained in his face and his fingers which were twisted in the links of his cuffs behind his back.

“There you go. Good boy.” Burnie praised him, using his other hand to stroke the boy’s hair.

A shiver shook Gavin’s form lightly at the words and his breath hitched and the finger was pulled out and pushed back in again.

“Think you can handle two?” Burnie asked and Gavin’s eyes flew open, mouth opening in a sonic screech of protest. He struggled more vigorously until Burnie fell onto his back, finger slipping out and allowing some movement of the lad who tried to knee-walk over the king and away. With an annoyed growl, Burnie flipped them, pinning Gavin on his back beneath him.

The lad whimpered at the bite of the cuffs into his wrists and back and the stern look on the king’s face.

Taking a deep breath, Burnie closed his eyes and then opened them, more calm, “Well it goes without saying that you failed today’s lesson.” He reached over to the nightstand and brought the little wooden box between them. Lifting the lid, he pulled out one of four different plugs. It was easily the smallest, about the size of Burnie’s finger, maybe a little bigger.

It was black and smooth, blunt yet pointed at one end for easy insertion and tapering off near the bottom before flaring into a wide base.

He held it up for Gavin to see, “Remember what I said.” He reminded, “Until lunch. No taking it out unless to use the bathroom. There’s a belt with a lock to keep it in, if you get antsy.”

Gavin shook his head vehemently, eyes wide and begging but Burnie only grabbed the oil and poured it into his hand before coating the plug thoroughly.

Once he deemed the plug suitable, the king used his body to keep one of the lad’s legs pinned beneath him and a free hand to lift the other leg out of the way, exposing the slick hole. Gavin was gasping half-pleas and protests, trying to writhe away and failing as he felt the blunt tip of the plug at his entrance and tensed, teeth grinding loud enough for Burnie to hear. It was pushed in slowly but the burn wasn’t as intense this time. He felt each ridge push in until it tapered off and locked inside him.

He whined at the uncomfortable pressure and kept tensing, trying to push it out but giving up with another whinge. His toes were curled hard enough to give his feet cramps and his breath wavered with humiliation and defeat.

Burnie pushed off of him and sat beside him on the bed, “You okay?”

Gavin swallowed and shifted, gasping as the movement jostled the plug. He let the air out in a gust as Burnie ran his fingers through his hair.

“Let’s get your cuffs off. You’re almost done.”

The promise was enough to get the lad to roll over onto his stomach so Burnie had easier access to the shackles. He felt the click of the metal and then his wrists were free. He rolled back over and rubbed at his sore skin, frowning but then noticed Burnie staring at him. It was an expectant stare similar to the first night he had sucked the king off and he bit his lip at the reminder.

Humming annoyedly, Gavin sat up only to yelp and freeze, eyes closed as the plug shoved deep inside him. His legs dangled off the edge of the bed but he was unwilling to move.

Burnie decided to help by standing and holding out his hands for the lad to hold on to. Gavin gripped them tightly before standing and whimpering, legs nearly buckling at the foreign sensation.

“Try walking around a bit.” the king suggested, “I’ll catch you if you fall. I’ll be right here.”

The boy whinged indignantly, “I’m never going to be able to walk again.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

“That’s easy for you to say! You haven’t had to do this!” He took a step as he was guided, wincing and wobbling on his legs.

“Good God, there is so much you don’t know about me…”

This caused Gavin to pause and look at the king who was busy trying to coordinate Gavin’s next step. What exactly was he insinuating? There was no way he had been a slave before. The nobles wouldn’t have allowed him to become king, “Did you do this to yourself on purpose?”

Burnie finally met his eyes but then quickly looked down to guide Gavin into his next step, “I… had a boyfriend once… Before I was king. We tried a lot of things because we enjoyed it.” he shrugged.

“So… you’ve used these before?”

“In the general sense. This set was made specifically for you. My set was made for me by the same person only a long time ago.”

“Oh…” Gavin swallowed as he took another step and finally started to get used to the sensations, “What was his name?”

“Matt. We were good for a while but… he ended up finding someone else while going to Academy. They got married.”

“Were you upset?”

“What? No! We split up before he left. I was the best man at their wedding and he’s always in my court.”

“Oh.” Burnie guided him back to the bed where he sat down and let go of him, leaving Gavin wringing his hands in front of him.

“But enough about my love life.” The king smiled brightly and tugged at his waist band, “Why don’t you get your mind off things by using that pretty mouth of yours?”

Gavin blushed furiously and fumbled with the older man’s trousers, undoing the buckle and then sliding them down slowly as he followed them and fell to his knees. He swallowed and licked his lips instinctively as his eyes fell upon his king’s erection.

The oil was held out for him and tipped over when he presented his hands, coating them in the thick liquid. He wrapped one hand around Burnie’s cock and stroked softly, calming with his low rumble of approval.

“Yesterday at lunch… before all this started…” Gavin began, “I was trying to teach myself how to take a bit more than what I normally do. I practiced for a long time but I couldn’t… I couldn’t keep myself from gagging. I’m sorry.” He frowned, but the king’s hand was in his hair soothingly.

“Keep practicing. You’ll get it one day.”

Nodding, the lad leaned forward and licked teasingly around the head of the older man’s cock. He shifted his hips to get into a more comfortable position and felt the plug inside him jostle with the movement, causing him to whimper, “Do I really have to wear this until lunch tomorrow?”

“How else are you going to learn? It’s not that bad.”

Gavin swallowed and mouthed at the tip for a moment, “I think… I’m just not used to it and I can’t see how one finger can prepare me for this.” He stoked the king’s cock to emphasize his point.

“That’s why we’re working you up one finger at a time. Your body can adjust to take it. Trust me.”

The lad hummed in thought, licking up the shaft before mouthing at the tip some more, tongue flicking the slit.

Burnie groaned in approval, his hips thrusting slightly and Gavin gagged before pulling off to cough, “Shit, sorry.” He said, pushing the lad’s bangs back.

Clearing his throat, the harlot reassured him, “I’m okay…” and resumed his work.

It didn’t take too long. Burnie praised him through the whole thing and stroked back his hair. It would need to be cut again soon.

Around the time Gavin’s jaw started to ache, Burnie tensed and grunted, holding his head down and coming down his throat. When he was finished, the harlot pulled back and made a face before swallowing and coughing, a shudder of disgust passing through him. “That’s still nasty…” he complained wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Burnie laughed breathlessly, “There are some things we can’t change…”

Gavin huffed and stood, wobbling a bit and steadying himself, “Am I allowed to sleep in here tonight?”

“Yeah, come on.” The king wrapped the younger lad in his arms and playfully rolled them on the bed.

Gavin squeaked in surprise then settled into the older man’s embrace and the two of them fell asleep that way.

When the concubine woke up in the morning, Burnie was changed and fixing his cravat in the mirror. Gavin yawned and stretched, causing the plug to shift inside him and he yelped as the memory of the previous night played over in his mind. A slight whine escaped his throat and Burnie chuckled as he walked back to the lad’s side of the bed and kissed him chastely before pressing his lips to his forehead to mumble, “Be good.” and walk out of the room.

Eventually, Gavin managed to crawl out of the bed on his own and amble awkwardly to the harem quarters to the pool of water that wasn’t quite a bath but was more or less his bath. He had left his pants in the king’s chamber so stepping into the pool wasn’t a problem.

What was a problem, however, was the fact that when he sat down, the plug shifted again, this time in a more lubricated manner. The longer he let his body soak, the more pliant his skin became and the more the plug shifting became a sensation he couldn’t ignore.

Mindlessly, he shifted his hips against it, moaning quietly before suddenly shaking himself of the action with a new disgust for himself and quickly finishing up his bath.

Unfortunately, his morning wood refused to go down, especially after the bath, so when he was dry, he looked for his favorite pillow and curled around it, biting at a wrinkled corner hard.

It was just before lunch when things went to hell.

Gavin had thrown the pillow across the room in frustration and was currently biting his hand to keep himself from grinding his hips into the pillowed floor.

He swallowed heavily and whined loudly. Why, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps subconsciously he hoped Burnie was within hearing distance and would come help. More than likely though, the king was in a council meeting that was preparing for lunch. He wouldn’t be back for awhile.

Actually, no one would be in to see him for awhile. A long while.  
He would be alone.

Completely and utterly alone.

No one here to catch him.

He shook himself. Those thoughts were too risky. He couldn’t chance being sent to the handlers.

_But no one would find out…_

He could very easily and very quickly get himself off and remove the evidence before anyone found out. Everyone would be happy. Right?

Any other person would have been able to point out the flaw in that statement. So, logically, the last thing Gavin should have done was reach down slowly and flick the clasp to open his waist wrap and reveal his aching cock. He shouldn’t have bit his lip as he adjusted himself so that the plug was more against the cushions. He shouldn’t have gently wrapped a hand around the base of his cock and sigh as he brought it up, the touch light as he finally reached the foreskin and tugged it down, revealing the soft cockhead.

But Gavin did do all of those things. And worse, he rubbed the tip between his fingers, throwing his head back as he choked back a moan. He licked his other hand to moisten it and wrapped it around his cock, beginning to stroke slowly at first, then faster until his hips began to jerk of their own accord and he was thrusting into the circle of his hand. Gavin traded groans for gasps as the involuntary spasms of his hips caused the plug to shift deliciously inside him, something he never ever figured he’d enjoy but it was helping now so he couldn’t really complain.

Gavin used his free hand to tug at his hair and thought about the face Burnie made when he came. He thought about Burnie kissing him deeply as he jerked him off; thought about Burnie’s tongue and the amazing things it made him feel.

“O-oh… Oh god…” The words were breathless and he was wound so tight by this time that he didn’t hear the door in the king’s chambers opening. Instead, all he heard was the rushing in his ears as he fell back onto the cushions and came all over himself, gasping shakily before it reduced to panting and the world stopped spinning.

There was the whisper of silk curtains and then…

“Gavin, I thought you’d like to join me for lunch to-...”

Gavin shot up so fast it made him dizzy and he nearly fell back again. His eyes were wide as they finally focused enough to see the king right in front of him.

“-day…” Burnie finally finished as he took in the scene of his harlot naked with come all over his body and panting, covered in sweat.

The vulnerable position, the evidence; it was all damning and Gavin could feel his mouth run dry. He couldn’t even force words out though his mouth opened and closed as if he were trying. In reality, though, the lad was terrified beyond words at the blank expression on the older man’s face.

They stared at each other for awhile until Burnie suddenly smiled a very dark smile. It was more of an evil grin if Gavin had to give it a name. His eyes looked gentle, but more in a tolerant way in the fact that they glinted with a promise of punishment of an unknown variety.

Gavin swallowed before finding his voice, “I-”

But he was cut off by Burnie’s hand planting on his chest to keep him pinned, nearly knocking the air out of him as the man’s free hand moved down to the plug and gently eased it out.

Gavin panted at the feeling of it slipping out of his body and shifted uncomfortably at the sudden empty feeling it left behind.

And then Burnie was standing over him again, still smiling that eager smile, “You’re going to need all the rest you can get.” He said ominously, “So no training tonight. You can sleep in here.”

“S-sire?” Gavin stuttered, trying to make sense of the words.

Burnie only smiled wider, his eyes nearly closing with the effort, and pat the lads head before walking out of the harem quarters, leaving Gavin dazed and confused on the cushioned-floor.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment." - Mahatma Gandhi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, guys. This chapter was supposed to be a one off thing and turned into a 6000+ word monster.
> 
> So as you can probably tell, I've made a few adjustments to this story. It is now going to be a 4 part saga retelling the stories of each lad in the harem (Gavin, Michael, and Ray respectively) and the climax/finale. The titles are as follows all preceded by 'Harem Hymns':
> 
> Fate's Fanfare - Gavin's song  
> Mercy's Melody - Michael's song  
> Captive's Chorale - Ray's Song  
> Royals' Requiem - Finale
> 
> So if you were looking forward to Joelay in this fic or really anything other than what I have edited the tags to relationship-wise then I'm really sorry but they will probably be in one of the other songs. You can message me at kaisterteeth.tumblr.com if you want to know which song has which ship. Sorry if this is confusing and that I had to switch things up. I should have figured this out earlier OTL
> 
> Please enjoy and leave some feedback! I love hearing from you! Happy Holidays and New Year!

Waking the next morning found Gavin anxious and jittery. The maids came in to deliver his breakfast and the new clothes he would be wearing that day. He couldn’t help but jump at every little sound they made.

He washed and dressed silently, trying to hear the door open in the other chamber. When he asked the servants where the king was they simply shrugged and muttered something about an early morning meeting that they helped to prepare him for.

Their answers did nothing to calm his nerves and he picked at his food, suddenly without appetite.

He had just finished picking an apple to pieces when the curtains pulled back and Burnie stepped in followed by a very stoic looking man that nearly reminded the lad of the knight, Monty.

He was short but toned and his light hair was long, pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were sharp and observant as they fell on the lad and he walked with an air of authority that demanded his orders be followed or risk punishment.

Gavin couldn’t help but swallow and put the apple core back onto the tray before standing to meet Burnie and whatever fate he was coming to deliver.

The king smiled widely and gestured to the man, “Gavin, this is Noah. Noah, this is the one I was telling you about.”

Gavin looked to the man, curious and anxious, wringing his hands, “H-hello.”

Noah crossed his arms, “He is skittish but disobedient. You have not taught him to keep his eyes down.”

The lad’s brows furrowed at the comment.

“I’m not too worried about what his eyes are doing.” Burnie replied.

“He is going to run.”

“Nah, he’ll be good.” The king stepped closer to Gavin who took a reflexive step back to stay out of reach. “Gavin, Noah is one of the head slave handlers for the court.”

The harlot’s eyes widened and his breathing nearly stopped. Slave handler? He took another step back, almost fumbling on a pillow and then realizing the exit was in front of him and past the two men.

“He is going to run.” Noah said again.

Gavin’s mouth opened and then closed when no sound came out. His heart was beating so wildly in his chest, the panic so acute that he suddenly felt dizzy but despite that he wanted to run as fast and as far away as he could. Trembling knees be damned.

He shot a look of betrayal to the king before that instinct took over and he was sprinting past the men and out to safety.

Or at least that was the plan.

It was a blur of motion, happening so fast that he barely had time to process it before there was pain.

He had just reached Noah, prepared to go around him quickly and use his small size to avoid capture but there were suddenly fingers in the hollow of his shoulder pinching his clavicle hard. Gavin cried out as he was steered in front of the man who wrapped his free hand around his throat, pressing his thumb into the pressure point just beneath his jaw and turning him to face the way he had come. There was a click of cuffs as his wrists were pinned behind his back and then fingers pinched the back of his neck causing Gavin’s legs to buckle under temporary paralysis.

It happened within 5 seconds and Noah stepped aside to watch Gavin fall face first into the pillows.

Gavin laid there, unable to move as he thought about what just happened. He was flipped over onto his back and stared at the ceiling until faces came into view. As soon as he saw Burnie, his eyes began to water and he shrieked accusal.

“You lied to me! You said you weren’t going to send me away! You lied!”

“Calm down, Gav. You’re not being sent anywhere.” Burnie replied bluntly, “He’s here to coach. To make you think twice about shit. It’s all part of your punishment.”

“I don’t _want_ to be pun-” Noah’s fingers were suddenly in his mouth and he choked, curling into himself enough for the other man to slip a ball gag around his mouth, the round bit fitting snugly between his teeth. It was tied into place and the lad screeched indignantly.

“He is very spoiled.” Noah noted, “Sire, you must have better use of your time than training this brat. He can be handled under our care. You know how well we do our job.” He pulled a thick black strip of cloth from his back pocket and a black ring Gavin had never seen before.

“You do it perhaps a little too well. I don’t want him broken, I want him invested.” Burnie explained, watching the other man fasten the cloth over the harlot’s eyes.

“Very well. I would recommend not taking the blindfold and gag off at the same time. Alternate between the two. He should fall pliant either way.” He sat back on his haunches, twirling the ring, “Do you have the oil and the plugs? We should be as efficient as possible.”

“Oh. Yeah they’re in the other room. I’ll get them.” and the king disappeared for only a moment before returning with the oil and the small wooden box.

Noah took them and set them aside with the ring, “We should get started.”

Burnie settled next to the lad’s head and ran his fingers through his hair calmingly.

There was a petite growl from the boy as he felt his waist wrap fall in a puddle onto the pillows. Noah grabbed both the harlot’s ankles in one hand and handed them to Burnie, pulling the boy’s legs over his head to expose him fully to the other man. He poured oil on his fingers while observing the contents of the box, “Does he have a particular size?”

“We’ve only gotten up to the first one.”

“The second one it is.” He pulled up the next largest plug and examined it before setting it longways in the box to grab easily later.

There was no hesitation, the handler confident in what he was doing. Gavin whined as he felt one finger, a finger that was _not Burnie’s_ , circling around his entrance. He tensed as it pushed in, his leg muscles twitching at the intrusion and a protesting squeak slipping from his throat. Behind the gag, he begged the king, the words gibberish to the other mens’ ears. He couldn’t see but he felt the prick of frustrated tears at his eyes, absorbed by the blindfold. Everything was so much more intense with his sight taken away, the blackness leaving him nothing to do except feel.

The handler worked methodically, using one finger until he deemed it necessary for a second, then spreading the lad open further with precision and efficiency.

At the addition of the second finger, the lad screamed in outrage before resorting to sobbing loudly and pitifully against the gag, trying to shake Burnie’s fingers from his hair defiantly.

By the time Noah had the plug in place, it seemed as though Gavin was cried out, “He is very whiny.” he said with a frown.

“He’s 15.” Burnie replied incredulously as though it was expected.

“Still. I’m exerting an incredible amount of restraint to give him the treatment you desire. You are probably correct in assuming he would not last very long in any of our compounds.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head, “It is a shame. He is lovely to look at. He would be fun to train.”

Burnie hummed in agreement, shifting so Gavin’s head was in his lap sideways. He frowned down at the boy who was sucking in shuddering breaths and drooling around the gag. His thumb brushed the apple of his cheek gently, the touch meant to be calming, but Gavin turned away and trembled.

The king sighed as he accepted the ring from the other man, the metal smooth in his palm and cool to the touch, coated in black paint to keep it from rusting. He placed it to the side before reaching around to the back of the lad’s head and unclasping the ballgag, “Let’s take this off for now.” he muttered.

The begging almost came immediately, “I’m s-sorry. Please. I don’t like this. I don’t want it. Please, sire, p-please.”

Noah interrupted almost as if he could see the fracture in the king’s resolve, “Do not let his crying sway you, my king. You must follow through with the punishment you decree. Otherwise, he’ll know it is okay to disobey and see your punishments as false and that his crying will get him out of it.”

“N-no! P-please, sire! I‘ll be good! It w-won’t happen again! Please!”

The cries nearly had Burnie abandoning his plan. Gavin sounded so scared and remorseful, but Noah suddenly grabbed the king by the wrist to get his attention.

“Forgive me, sire.” He said slowly, “But you need to take control of the situation. Be his master. Do not try to be his friend. He will not learn if you keep babying him.”

A new determination sank into the king at those words and his resolve bolstered. Pouring oil into his palm, he wrapped a hand around Gavin’s half-hard cock and stroked firmly.

Gavin nearly convulsed before mistaking the action for forgiveness, “Th-thank you, sire. Th-thank you- _ah…_ ”

The harlot’s grateful tone made the king push the lad up and claim his mouth to quiet him. Gavin groaned against him, thrusting into the older man’s hand. The air of relief pouring from him made Burnie feel just a little guilty, but not enough to stop. Especially not when Gavin gasped and pulled back announcing his completion only to squeak in disbelief when he felt the ring slip over his swollen cock and prevent it altogether, foreskin stretched tight around the head.

“N-no…” the lad choked out, thrusting his hips in search of a hand to help him, “No, please! Please, Burnie, I’m sorry! I’m-” He was choked again as the ballgag was shoved back into his mouth and fastened tighter than before.

Gavin wanted to manipulate to get his way, so Burnie didn’t mind slipping into a persona that would put the concubine in his place. It wasn’t a side of himself he was familiar with but his mounting frustration and disappointment and simple annoyance at the lad’s blatant disobedience had reached a peak and he found himself grinning, damn near giddy, with the control. He couldn’t say he felt this way even being king, the stresses too great to fully feel like he had a handle on the reigns of the kingdom but with Gavin tied up and begging, it pulled a powerful and confident feeling from him; one that was tired of putting up with bullshit and just wasn’t going to take it today.

He stood quickly, relying on Noah to hold the lad up while he replaced the boy’s waist wrap around his waist and tugged the chain to his collar from his own belt loops. It clipped easily to the d-ring on Gavin’s collar and he took a moment to look the harlot over.

Gavin was hunched, knees bent and trying to alleviate the pressure from the plug.  His arms pinned behind his back left the tent in the waist wrap exposed and obvious and his legs trembled beneath him while he whined with every exhale while trying to breathe through the gag. Truly a sight to behold. Burnie wished he had some way to catalogue the moment.

As it happened, it was almost eleven in the morning and nearly time for court. His harlot was prepped and ready to join him for the day while he heard petitions and listened to the council bicker.

He tugged on the leash and watched Gavin stumble forward and into him, whimpering. He leaned down enough to palm the back of Gavin’s head and whisper into his ear, “You’re going to be a good boy aren’t you, Gavin.” It was more of a statement than a question and Gavin nodded shakily. Burnie straightened with a smirk, “Good.” and pulled the lad from the room.

The procession to the throne room was a slow one. Mostly because Burnie was walking backwards to watch Gavin stumble and struggle to walk properly and keep up. He had guards behind him, moving people out of the way for them as they crawled through the halls and at least once, Burnie stopped them all to pull the harlot into his chest and reach down to play with the plug. He would chuckle when Gavin would tense and raise onto his toes, trying to move away from the feeling whimpering and whining behind the gag.

When they finally made it into the throne room, Burnie had a servant place a large, overstuffed pillow next to the throne by his legs as was customary when the concubine spent the day in court with him.

Unfortunately the lad would not be able to sleep like usual and instead would have to sit on his knees while the king heard the petitions of his people.

Noah had since faded to the shadows to observe and Burnie led the lad to the pillow, forcing him to his knees as he unclipped the leash from the d-ring. He stood in front of the harlot and held his jaw in one hand, forcing him to look up as his free hand removed the blindfold from Gavin’s eyes.

The orbs were red and puffy, betrayal and humiliation pouring from the gaze. The king’s thumb stroked the apple of the lad’s cheek gently and he leaned down to kiss his temple and unclip the waist wrap pulling it from the harlot’s body and leaving him nude within view of everyone in the room.

The lad’s mortified expression didn’t deter Burnie as he sat in his throne and waited for the guards to open the court to the people.

The large double doors were opened and a line of people waited outside. The guards only let one petitioner or group of people for the same petition in at a time.

They walked slowly up the red carpet to the throne. Some of them obviously had never been in the throne room before, their eyes transfixed on the ornate Golden Arches and priceless art in the room. The sun shone down from an opening in the ceiling and illuminated the throne, casting the king in a holy light.

Gavin couldn't help but feel grateful that they didn't seem to notice him. The feeling was short lived however as they finally reached the foot of the platform that the throne was sat on top of, letting the royalty look down upon his subjects. Burnie had talked to him before about redecorating the throne room to be more inviting and less intimidating, but with the way the awestruck eyes of the petitioners changed to ravenous hunger when they spotted him, Gavin was glad for the higher ground and shuffled closer to Burnie, looking down and away in embarrassment.

There were thick fingers in his hair then, meant to calm him and he looked back at the king to see a gentle smile on his lips. Despite the overwhelming pressure in his belly, Gavin settled in and leaned against the older man’s leg at least for protection.

The guards stopped the group at the base of the pedestal and they struggled to gain their attention back to their cause. It was some frivolous request, one that Burnie easily agreed to and they were quickly lead out of the room, sparing furtive glances towards the bound lad at their king’s feet.

Court went on for a good two hours. Gavin recognized some of the faces in the petitioning crowd from the market district and their surprised expressions made his ears burn as he tried his hardest to concentrate on the marble floors. Sometimes he would look at his cock, still standing despite everything, and frown around the ballgag. He wanted to touch himself badly but that was obviously an impossible thing to accomplish with the way he was bound. Burnie’s hand brushed through his hair every now and then, sending sensation through his body that really didn’t help with his condition. He would whine very quietly and nose at the king’s pant leg, trying to curl his toes to redirect the energy and pressure away from his cock.

Eventually the last of the petitioners were escorted from the room and Burnie sent the guards off to shift change. He stood and stretched, groaning a bit before looking down at the lad who looked back, hopeful and pleading.

Before either of them could move, however, the side door to the throne room burst open and Van Buren waltzed in.

He paused at the side of the throne next to Gavin and took in the lad’s state before smiling wickedly, “Good to see you utilizing your pets properly, sire.”

Gavin flinched and tried to scoot closer to Burnie but the advisor’s hand suddenly grabbed his hair and yanked hard exposing the harlot’s throat and causing him to cry out behind the gag, “I still think you can find better in the slave compounds, trained at that, but I suppose he is learning.”

“Lionel…” Burnie said lowly, almost dangerously. There was a warning in his tone, “I suggest you let him go before I order Monty to cut your fingers off.” Said knight stepped forward, seemingly from nowhere, and unsheathed a dagger, testing the tip idly with a forefinger as if he weren’t interested.

Van Buren’s expression morphed from smug to shocked almost instantly and he let go quickly, “I don’t think that’s really necessary, sire…”

“Then don’t touch my stuff…”

“Y-yes, sire…” the advisor backed away slowly as the king moved to take the spot next to Gavin and rub the ache in his scalp away, the lad leaning into it and basking in the protection.

“You should go prepare for council, I think.” Burnie advised.

“Right away, sire.” and the advisor was gone before anyone else in the room could blink.

Burnie looked down at the harlot, assessing him for injury before crouching down and ruffling his hair a bit, “Are you ready for a break? I think lunch is done.”

Gavin’s stomach growled loudly right at that moment and he nodded quickly, whimpering slightly.

Chastely kissing his temple, the king replaced the lad’s waist wrap and blindfold before dismissing Monty and guiding Gavin gently back to the royal chambers and setting him on the bed.

The harlot whined and wriggled a bit, getting used to the plug pushing farther inside him but stilled when he felt Burnie’s hand in his hair again.The fingers stroked slowly until the other hand made its presence known on his knee, sliding gently up his thigh and following one of the lines of his Adonis belt before wrapping around the lad’s cock and stroking once.

Gavin keened, arching into the hand and throwing his head back. His knees raised involuntarily as he tried to curl in on himself but Burnie was there to stop them. Instead of torturing the lad further, the king was merciful and, on his next stroke, brought the cock ring up with his hand and off of Gavin who nearly sobbed in relief.

He was breathing heavy as Burnie’s other hand flicked the clasp of the ballgag, letting it fall loose around the harlot’s head before it was plucked gently from between his teeth.

Burnie watched the string of saliva that followed the ball until it broke and caused Gavin to lick his swollen lips. He was surprised when the lad simply panted for a moment instead of immediately falling to pleads and begs of release. He let his fingers continue to trail through his hair and watched as the boy calmed considerably, the tent in his waist wrap still prominent but slowly falling as his breathing evened out. Eventually Gavin’s stomach grumbled loudly and he nosed needily at Burnie’s hand, whimpering.

“Easy, Gav.” Burnie said gently, “I know you’re hungry. I’m going to feed you. Stay here.” He backed away slowly to retrieve the bowl of fruit and the plate of quartered turkey he had requested earlier. He set it off to the side on the bed before very gently grabbing the boy’s jaw. Gavin whimpered but Burnie only shushed him softly, applying miniscule pressure until the lad opened his mouth.

Unable to resist, the king leaned forward and kissed the harlot deeply, revelling in the low groan he heard in response. By the time he pulled away, Gavin’s lips were even more swollen and he was back to panting. The older man brushed a kiss over his forehead before pulling back and grabbing a strawberry, “I’m going to feed you.” He reminded, slowly pressing the tip of the strawberry against the lad’s tongue, “You can bite down now.”

Gavin bit into the berry eagerly and chewed quickly before whining for another bite.

Burnie reciprocated with a piece of turkey that was quickly swallowed before the lad’s tongue was chasing the king’s fingers to lick off the taste.

“Easy, easy.” Burnie hummed, “No one is going to take this from you. Slow down, alright? I’ll take care of you. Are you thirsty?”

Gavin nodded eagerly, “P-please, sire.” He licked his lips as Burnie grabbed the cup from the nightstand.

“You have to be slow, okay?” The older man reminded, “I don’t want you to choke.”

“Yes, s-sire.”

Burnie hummed as he gently cupped Gavin’s jaw again, running a thumb over his bottom lip before placing the lip of the cup there instead and tipping slowly.

Gavin felt the cool rim of the glass against his lips and drank gratefully, swallowing thickly and whimpering when Burnie pulled the cup back. There was more turkey then and eventually another drink, the king feeding him slowly and carefully, taking complete care of him and praising him for taking his time.

Once the lad had expressed his fullness, the blindfold came off for a bit. Even the handcuffs were removed and the king helped to rub away the soreness in the reddened wrists.

Burnie ate a bit himself, munching quietly at the turkey and letting the lad doze on his lap as he rested against the headboard. This was the most relaxed he had ever seen the harlot outside of post-coitus but all too soon, the food dwindled and the time for council drew near. He idly thought it was a shame that this moment would have to end. “Unfortunately,” He began, patting the soft tuft of light brown locks laying in his lap, “it’s that time, bud.”

Predictably, Gavin tensed, body reflexively trying to curl in on itself for protection. He buried his face against Burnie’s thigh, “I hate this.”

“That’s good. Maybe you’ll think better next time.”

“I just… Can’t my punishment be done? I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Not yet you haven’t.”

That sounded ominous and Gavin swallowed, sitting up and trying to distance himself just enough to not make it seem too obvious. He rubbed at his arm idly, making his bracelets and armbands clink together with the movement, and stared at the comforter in anxiety and defeat.

Burnie sighed as he watched, brows drawing together in sympathy and exasperation, “Gavin… listen-”

“I-I’m fine… sire. Just preparing myself I think…”

“You shouldn’t need to prepare yourself that much. You act like I’m going to cut off one of your arms.”

“Might as well…” The phrase was murmured but Burnie’s sharp ears picked it up.

“No. Listen to me. This training is all for your own good-”

Gavin’s voice rose as he cut the king off turning to face him with an angry and desperate flare in his eyes, “That’s all I keep hearing but it doesn’t feel like it! You’re treating me the same way the handlers would treat me!”

Burnie’s glare was enough to make the lad shrink back and look down apologetically. “I am trying to teach you how to enjoy yourself and help you feel good. Handlers teach new slaves how to feel pleasure from pleasing their masters with no regard to whether or not they are taken care of. Those are two completely different things that are carried out in two completely different ways. If I had wanted you to be a robot here to satisfy my needs mindlessly, I would have sent you to the handlers to begin with. Why waste my limited time teaching an ungrateful brat about his body when I can get others to do it for me and add the bonus of having you ready for me when I want you, a harlot with his ass in the air?” He set the empty plates back on the nightstand before continuing, “Noah showed you a small fraction of what they do to pleasure slaves and you were terrified. Now you want to compare me to them because I’m punishing you for disobeying. If you were in anyone else’s hands right now you’d already be lost and broken with no way to be fixed. Is that what you want?”

Gavin opened his mouth then closed it again before swallowing and sucking in a shaky breath, “N-no sir…”

Burnie sighed again, “I swear it’s always one step forward and two steps back with you.” He didn’t miss the way Gavin flinched at the words, wiping quickly at his eyes to remove what the king could only assume were tears. He felt his expression soften then and opened his arms, “Come here, Gav.”

There was only a moment’s hesitation before the lad obeyed and slowly scooted closer to the king until his thick fingers gripped the slight wrists and pulled him gently into an embrace, cradling him with his body.

The older man kissed the boy’s head and ran his fingers through his hair, “Look… you’ve enjoyed everything else we’ve done so far right?”

Gavin nodded, biting his lip.

“Your only real hang-up is penetration and that’s not a fear born from experience, it’s born from rumors and what you think is going to happen. Can you do me a favor and trust me to take care of you? You know I don’t want to hurt you, right?” When there wasn’t a response, Burnie jostled him a bit to grab his attention and provoke an answer, “Gavin…”

“I know!” Gavin whined, burying his face in his hands

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I just… It feels strange… and… it burns… and I just… I’m scared you’ll want to… get rid of me… if I’m bad at it…”

The lad jumped when the king suddenly burst out laughing, “Gavin, you’re new to this. It’s a given that you’re not going to be amazing at it right off the bat.”

Blushing furiously, the harlot ducked his face into the crook of Burnie’s neck, “I know that!”

“But if you let me, I can try and fix that.” The king could almost feel the lad’s blush deepen, “Gavin, all I’m asking is that you let me take care of you. No more fits alright? If I do something that really hurts you, it’s okay to tell me, but you don’t have to scream bloody murder and try to run away. I want you to feel good too. I love you, Gav. I don’t want to see you suffer.”

He heard the lad’s breath hitch and felt him pull away to look at his face, “You don’t mean that…”

“I really do.”

Gavin shook his head vehemently, “No, you can’t.”

“Gav-”

“You’re still going to take me to council and tease me to death! You don’t love me!”

“Gavin, listen!” the lad fell into a petulant silence, “I’m punishing you right now because you disobeyed and because I have to show the council that you’re being used for your title. If enough councilmen question it, there could be a demand for your training and I would have to oblige or risk losing my position. Do you understand that? Either the handlers will come and take you away and I let them or they take you away and I’m removed from the throne and you’re now the concubine of whoever they put in charge. I don’t think I have to remind you how much the council favor Van Buren…”

The boy paled, breath coming in short gasps at the prospect, “N-no… D-don’t leave me with him. P-please. Don’t go. Please…” He gripped at Burnie’s shirt and pulled himself closer.

Burnie held him tightly, kissing his temple gently, “I’m doing this for both of us… Do you think you can handle one night of this compared to the alternative?”

Gavin shook his head with a whine, hair tickling the king’s cheek, “I…” he swallowed, “They’re going to see me…”

“Don’t worry about them. I’ll keep your blindfold on. You won’t even see them. You can pretend it’s just us.”

“A-and the gag? Or the ring… or the plug?”

“The plug stays in and the ring stays on until after council. The gag I’ll let you decide on.”

The harlot was silent for a moment. Then, “I-I can’t really breathe with the gag.”

“It stays off then.”

“Will you kiss me?”

“If you want.”

“Please...”

“Okay.” Burnie agreed easily and reached for the blindfold, “Are you ready?”

Gavin swallowed and nuzzled against the king’s neck for a moment before nodding.

The older man grabbed the younger’s jaw gently and forced him to look at him, “Hey.” He waited for Gavin’s attention to focus before leaning in and pressing their lips together. The kiss was slow and deep, the lad’s lips opening gradually until Burnie was able to sweep his tongue inside his mouth, exploring it thoroughly. He pulled back only when Gavin was flushed and breathing heavily, “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you. I just need you to trust me, alright?”

The lad nodded dazedly before leaning back in for another kiss which Burnie gave in chaste manner before stopping to tie the blindfold back around Gavin’s head, all the while praising him for being a good boy and holding still.

The cock ring was a little more difficult but not unmanageable. Predictably, Gavin squirmed and whimpered but otherwise didn’t try to wriggle away when the king’s hand jerked his cock slowly and steadily, allowing him to harden before the ring was slipped over him keeping him that way. He whined and panted, but otherwise said nothing.

At the tinkling sound of the metal cuffs, Gavin spoke urgently, “S-sire?”

“What do you need, Gav?” Burnie paused, rubbing his shoulder with a free hand.

“C-can they be in front this time?” The hand slowly slid down to his wrist to lift it gently. The subtle feel of soft lips pressed against the inside skin and disappeared before he felt the cool metal lock into place over it. His other wrist joined it in front of him and he sighed in slight relief, “Th-thank you.”

Another kiss was placed to his temple before he was helped down and his chain clipped to his collar.

Blind to the world around him, Gavin felt the light tug of the leash on his collar and took a shaky step forward. He had gotten used to the plug but had been off his legs for awhile. The first step shifted inside him and he released a shaky breath before the lead was tugged again. At least his hands were in front of him this time.

It wasn’t hard to tell when they walked into the council room. The walls were made of thick brick leaving the air cold and thin even with the small windows that allowed some midday light to shine through. Goosebumps spread over his skin both from the chill and the voices he heard chatting idly.

He was still walking forward when he bumped into the wide expanse of the king’s back. Burnie had stopped and so had the chatter.

Gavin swallowed and gripped the older man’s shirt with his shackled hands as they moved forward but he was eventually forced to let go as Burnie found his seat at the head of the table. The lad stood and shifted anxiously, playing with the links of his shackles while he waited for direction.

The king unclipped the leash from his collar but instead of pushing him to sit on the floor, he pulled him in, forcing him to sit on his lap facing the council and straddling his right thigh, a hand on his belly just above the fabric of the waist wrap.

It was silent for a moment, then Burnie spoke, “Alright. Council’s in session. What’s new?”

“Well, sire,” One councilman was slow to begin, “the outermost cities are falling apart under failing local leadership and-”

And just like that, council began. Gavin tuned it out as best he could, focusing instead on how Burnie’s voice sent pleasant rumbles through his body that he could feel in his chest.  He wondered idly at when the teasing would begin and if he would be able to ignore the other people who were obviously in the room. He entertained the thought of enjoying it, of moaning openly at Burnie’s hand around him, mouth at his ear as he spoke more words to keep that pleasant tingle rattling in his chest.

He whimpered and turned his face into the king’s neck, cheeks burning at the shameful imaginings filling his head. The chill certainly wasn’t a problem anymore.

Somewhere during all the political discussion and tactics, Burnie’s hand began a slow stroke on the thickening peach fuzz of his stomach, causing a shudder to run through him. The sensation was nice and before he could stop himself, his hips began to thrust just slightly against the touch. He released a quiet shuddering breath, fingers of one hand, despite being chained to the other hand, threaded through the king’s encouraging the movement.

Burnie pressed hard to adjust the harlot on his leg and Gavin yelped loudly at the sudden shifting of the plug, causing the council to become distracted.

He swallowed thickly and trembled in embarrassment until the older man kissed his temple in apology and continued his hand’s movement. It took a moment for the council to return to their discussion and in that time frame, Burnie began kissing the juncture of his neck and shoulder, mouthing gently and leaving little nips and bites along the flushed skin.

The subtle movement of Gavin’s hips turned into very obvious squirming, plug be damned. He whimpered with each nibble, unsure whether to lean into the action or away from it. When Burnie's hand slipped below the top of his wrap, Gavin held his breath, only releasing it in a shuddering gust when he felt the lightest contact against his cock.

There was no grip to the touch, just gentle fingers feeling along the hardened flesh but it made the lad bite his lip and let out the slightest whimper only heard by the king, himself.

At that point, he could feel Burnie’s smirk against his neck. He shivered and rose up into the touch, tipping his head back. Burnie's grip tightened in response, circling his length in a loose hold.

Gavin was lost to the world then, uncaring of the councilors in the room. The king's hand began stroking slowly and he was already hard to begin with thanks to the cock ring. Almost unbearably so. The torture throughout the day, even with the break between sessions, ensured he was teetering on the edge of climax, just outside his reach. The pressure on his cock just wouldn't let him come like he so desperately wanted and tears of frustration began to leak from his eyes only to be absorbed by the blindfold.

His whines and whimpers picked up in volume and frequency for every downward stroke of the older man's hand. His hips bucked up in time and he squirmed deliciously in Burnie’s lap when he began circling his thumb over the foreskin and eventually inside the loose skin to tease at the extra sensitive head. Before long, Gavin was choking on tongued moans while his king bounced his knee to jostle the plug just right so that it bumped rhythmically against that spot inside him that had him seeing stars even behind the dark cloth over his eyes.

He turned his head to the side, mindlessly searching for affection as his orgasm was held off, “P-please… please… pl-lease…” His voice trembled with chest-deep sobs of frustration and Burnie was merciful, turning his own head to meet Gavin’s and brushing their lips together in a deep kiss. The king let Gavin take as much as he needed, never demanding more or forcing the kiss. Gavin’s mouth opened needily and gratefully and the older man took the opportunity to sweep his tongue inside and explore.

It was a miraculous endeavor, but not unheard of, all things considered, when Gavin’s body tightened like razor wire and he arched suddenly, gasping and pulling away from the king’s mouth. It looked like an orgasm to Burnie but there was no mess and the lad never relaxed. Instead he continued to gasp before releasing a choked, desperate, and overwhelmed cry. It was then that the king decided he needed to wrap things up and let the lad recuperate.

Without more explanation than a pointed glance to the council, Burnie picked the harlot up and strode quickly from the room, traversing the hallways easily to his own chamber.

Gavin didn’t feel much until he was placed upon the thick silk comforter and felt his waist wrap fall from his form. He was shaking terribly and whatever wall he had hit preventing him from coming had been surpassed only to have him hit a new wall twice as hard. He couldn’t tell up from down, only that the pleasure and pain in his cock was slamming against him, wave after overwhelming wave.

He tried to grapple for the cockring only to be thwarted by the king’s hands grabbing the chain between his cuffs to keep them out of the way. His next move was a blessing and Gavin said as much, praising and blessing the other man for existing despite having put him in the position in the first place. Burnie slid off the cockring and tossed it aside and the alleviated pressure was so much that he came instantly, a dribbling mess smearing against his belly without so much as a stimulating touch.

Gavin panted heavily and nearly sobbed with the relief, a steady whine building in his throat from the exertion. He felt his cuffs unlock and slide from his wrists but his arms were in permanent-limp state and flopped uselessly onto the bed. The plug slid out easily with a gentle tug and while the open and empty feeling was uncomfortable, he couldn’t be arsed to care, only tensing a bit as his body began to fully relax from the onslaught of sensation, breath gradually evening out. The last thing to be removed was the blindfold. He felt the fabric slip from his head and leave raw, saline-streaked skin behind. He could barely keep his eyes open.

A cool and damp cloth blotted at his skin, wiping away sweat and seed. He hummed, grateful, and when he felt the cool cloth over his forehead, he sighed. A finger slipped under his chin and gently tilted it up to receive a gentle and chaste kiss. He accepted it needly, strangely craving affection after the intensity he had just experienced. Burnie was happy to give it to him, slipping a pair of loose chiffon pants onto his body and pressing tiny kisses wherever he could reach.

Gavin felt the covers of the king’s bed settle over him and the older man gently slide behind him, holding him gently but tightly. The harlot tucked into him with a yawn, body still twitching worth tiny, post-orgasmic shivers.

“So was all that trouble really worth it?” The soft rumble of Burnie’s voice took a moment to process for the lad.

And then he had to think.

He didn’t know simple touching could be as intense as it was. It certainly wasn’t something he wanted to make a routine out of and while he got to come, it left him so exhausted and nearly dead to the world. It was too much.

Gavin curled tighter into Burnie’s side in response and the king chuckled.

“So we won’t need to go through this again then?”

The harlot shook his head.

He couldn’t promise perfect behavior, but he knew that this punishment was not something that he would want to bring down upon himself again any time soon. At least not until he was further along in this training and, dare he say it, more experienced and advanced in giving and receiving pleasure.

Gavin felt himself drifting when he heard Burnie mumble a low, “Good.” before he promptly passed out with a subtle tremble on his skin.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuation and conclusion of harlot training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever I apologize I have had 0% motivation

It was a couple days before Gavin came out of the harem quarters. Burnie expected as much; was fine with it and didn’t push him.

What he didn’t expect was to walk into his room after a long day and find the harlot sitting on his bed, playing with the box of plugs sheepishly, nearly gnawing his bottom lip off.

“Gavin?” He asked, pulling off his cape and throwing it over a chair.

The lad jumped and nearly dropped the box as he looked to the king with wide eyes. Then he swallowed and looked back to the stained wood between his fingers.

“What are you doing, Gav?” Burnie tried again, walking closer and sitting beside him on the bed.

Gavin licked his lips before speaking, “I-...” He cleared his throat, “I want… to be better at this…”

Burnie cocked his head, “I thought you were going to fight me the whole way.”

“I don’t want a repeat of last time…” He thumbed the lid of the box, “And it didn’t… feel terrible…”

“I told you it wouldn’t if it was done right.”

“I know. I know. And you took such good care of me after; didn’t drop me in my room and leave me alone...”

“Gavin…” Burnie took him by the shoulders, looking in his eyes searchingly, “What do you want?”

“I want to be good.” the harlot said immediately, “B-but I want to go slower than we have been…”

“And?...” The king urged, sensing there was more.

“And I’d like for you to respect when I’m uncomfortable and stop when I need it…” Gavin seemed to tighten each muscle with every word as if expecting to be struck or reprimanded.

It was silent for a long moment until Burnie spoke, “That’s fine. As long as you don’t abuse the system. Your punishments still stand. We both need to try and work towards this together.”

The lad perked up considerably , “R-really? Thank you, sire. I-...” He swallowed, “Thank you.”

“Let me take these from you.” Burnie took the polished box of plugs and set them on the nightstand, “Do you want to try now? We can do whatever you want to do but we’ll also need to do at least one finger okay?”

Gavin chewed on his lip but nodded.

“What do you want?”

“Just… Can you kiss me while you do it?”

The king smiled brightly, “Of course, buddy.” He lifted the harlot by his waist and settled him to straddle his lap. Their groins pressed together and Burnie chuckled when he heard Gavin release a shuddered breath.

There was trepidation, but also anticipation. Burnie hoped the anxiety would dissipate with time.

He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to the lad’s nose, then down to his lips where they pressed together in a gentle slide until Gavin had to pull away to catch his breath, panting and shivering in the king’s lap.

When Burnie reached for the oil next to the plugs, he felt the boy tense, then will himself to relax and the king couldn’t help but praise him for it, “Good boy, Gav. Just loosen everything. It’ll make it easier, I promise.”

Gavin ducked his head under Burnie’s chin as he felt the other man’s slick fingers slide up under his wrap. He released a shaky breath, curling his toes in an effort to keep himself relaxed.

The King took his time, sliding the slick around the lad’s hole before pushing a finger in gently. He could feel his mouth open and his face tighten against his shoulder, “That’s it, buddy. Good boy.”

Shuddering, the harlot whined thinly into the older man’s neck as the finger began a slow, dragging pulse inside him. He was silently grateful that he had such an attentive lord as his head was tipped back and his lips taken in a very gentle yet deep kiss.

The motion continued on for a few moments until Burnie began to crook his finger, searching.

Gavin jolted suddenly and pulled back from the kiss with a gasp and the King smiled, “Easy there.”

“W-what was that? Wh-what was- ah…” he leaned away from the feeling and panted, his eyes glazing over as Burnie continued to stroke the sensitive spot he’d discovered.

“I don’t know the name for it. But it feels good doesn’t it?” he asked.

Gavin responded with a jerk of his hips against the feeling, seeking more of it.

“That’s it, buddy. Ride it.”

“P-please… I can’t… S-sire, I c-can’t handle-” His sentence was cut of as his body tensed tight as wire and he suddenly came, a choked moan escaping him as he clutched at Burnie’s shirt collar. After, he shivered against the man.

The king chuckled, “Didn’t last you very long this time, huh?” He pulled out his finger and wiped it on the sheets and could almost feel the lad’s blush at his words.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. You discovered something new about yourself today. Thoughts?”

“I-It felt... really good.”

Burnie chuckled and kissed the lad’s forehead, “That’s good. How are you feeling?”

Gavin took a moment to collect himself and shifted a bit before blinking sleepily, “Tired.” He yawned as if to emphasize his point, “But I can try to-...” He moved to slide down and kneel between the king’s legs but Burnie stopped him.

“Its okay. I’m kind of exhausted. Let’s just go to bed.”

Gavin blinked at him once before nodding in agreement and settling on the bed to wait for the king to undress and join him.

After their agreement, Gavin seemed to be back to normal and was more willing to participate in their nightly ritual, only failing the training a couple times before Burnie added another finger to the mix and then a few more times before he added a third.

Even though he was ‘punished’ on those nights he failed, the Brit never tempted fate again by toeing the line during a punishment period. Burnie was grateful for it. He wasn’t sure if he could handle putting the lad through that again, much less if the boy could handle it himself.

Burnie turned it into a game of sorts, giving special rewards for a job well done that included trips outside of the keep to the flowering meadows just beyond the tree-line and even visits to other parts of the kingdom outside their fortified island.

With this reward system, Gavin was taking fingers and sucking the king off nearly as well as any other concubine despite the dismay of the council who grumbled about sponsoring the lad on the trips he got to take.

It was after another complaint session that Burnie decided that he needed to move forward.

Walking into his chambers and straight into the harem quarters, he found Gavin asleep in his favorite nest of pillows, drooling slightly on the one beneath his head, no doubt exhausted after prancing around the palace all day.

“Gav…” The king jostled the lad’s shoulder to rouse him.

With a yawn, sleepy eyes opened, and soft muscles flexed beneath silky skin in a stretch. The harlot blinked a few times at the king before smiling, “Hello, sire. Here to train me some more?”

Burnie chuckled and brushed the lads lengthening hair out of his face, deciding quite spontaneously to keep him away from the shears, “It’s not so much training anymore is it? You’ve gotten pretty good.”

Gavin shrugged but his blush gave away his happiness at the praise, “What can I give you today, sire? You want me to use my hands or did you want to use your fingers on me again?”

“I was thinking maybe something a little different.”

“Oh?” The lad sat up and turned around, a slight tension in his face, “What’s that?”

The older man gestured for the younger to follow him to the bedroom where he retrieved the box of plugs, “How about you try opening yourself up for the plug while I watch?”

The jolt was visible in the Brit, confusion written plain across his face, “You don’t want me to touch you?”

Burnie nodded, “you don’t always have to touch each other to get off together. Sometimes just watching someone get themselves off is enough.” He began to strip down, removing his cape and tunic before sitting down on the end of the bed where the lad had chosen to sit and untying his boots, “Also you’ve gotten pretty comfortable with my fingers lately so you should know what to do by now.”

“But…” Gavin bit his lip, “What if I do something wrong and… I don’t know… get myself stuck or… something..?”

The king laughed loudly, “Gavin, I’ll be right here to guide you. You’ll be okay. I already told you I won’t let anything hurt you. Not even yourself.” His second boot dropped to the ground with a thud and he leaned over to kiss the lad on the forehead, “I believe in you.”

With a nervous swallow, the Brit nodded, “Okay… Do you want me to…” His hands hovered over his waist wrap questioningly.

“Might as well.” Burnie dropped his trousers and climbed to the head of the bed before patting his naked thigh in invitation, “You can just straddle me here and I’ll help you if you need it.”

Gavin moved over to the king, letting his wrap fall away as he delicately perched himself in the older man’s lap.

The oil sat innocently next to the box of plugs on the nightstand until Burnie picked it up and popped off the stop, “Do you want me to start you off?”

“H-how many are we doing?”

“How many have we _been_ doing?”

The lad ducked his head and murmured, “Three.”

“Okay, then three it is.” He reached forward suddenly and pulled the boy in for a kiss before pouring the oil onto his fingers and reaching around to tease the harlot’s hole.

Gavin sucked in a sharp breath, tensing tightly before relaxing as he had been trained. The oil made goosebumps spread over his skin and he shivered as he felt the first press of the finger against him.

But suddenly, it stopped and he looked up to the king pursing his lips in thought, “How about you turn around instead and present like I showed you that one time?”

Gavin blinked for a moment before obeying, albeit slowly, turning around until he straddled the older man’s legs facing away from him. With a subtle gulp, he leaned forward until his forehead was resting  just above the king’s knees and his bottom was in the air.

“Good boy.” Burnie praised, patting one of his cheeks and Gavin flushed at the praise before nearly jumping out of his skin when the other man resumed what he had been doing before.

Finally, after his hole was coated in the oil, Burnie began to push the finger in slowly reminding the lad to relax every few moments until the finger was in as far as it could go. He flexed it for a minute before pulling it out and starting again, this time a little faster.

He could feel the boy’s breath against his kneecaps and saw his fingers twist in the sheets when he started moving the finger around a bit to prepare it for more. At one particular crook, Gavin jerked a bit and made a tiny, tongued whimper as his sensitive spot was brushed.

He prodded at it once more before removing his finger and reaching for the lad’s hand coating it in extra oil, “Your turn, buddy.”

The harlot had to lean up a little to reach around properly but eventually Burnie guided him where he needed to be, pushing one of his own fingers inside himself slowly as he got used to the sensation of stretching himself by his own fingers.

The king took the time to admire the elegant curve of the boy’s back and the first beads of sweat beginning to appear and slide down his shoulder blades. He gently followed the trails they left behind, appreciating the glistening shine they left on the supple skin.

After a moment Gavin turned to look at him questioningly, “Sh-should I add another one?”

“Do you think you’re ready for it?”

“Ah… Maybe?”

“Try it then. See how it feels. If it hurts just go back to one.”

“Okay.” The lad listened, pushing a second finger in and nearly falling back onto the king’s knees.

Start pulling your fingers away from each other and it’ll open you up some more.” The older man supplied, “Then you can get the third one in there and the plug eventually.”

It didn’t take much longer before Gavin was panting and rutting back onto his fingers, arms trembling from the exertion until Burnie placed a hand on his chest to let him lean against. His cock was hard against the older man’s thigh and he tensed every few movements of his fingers as he accidentally brushed his prostate.

Eventually he went for three, adding the third finger in almost desperately, his breathless whines turning into shameless whimpers and moans. The king was more than satisfied with the show and decided to reward the lad for his obedience, reaching around with his other hand to grab at the boy’s hard cock and stroke it appreciatively.

This nearly caused Gavin to choke and his body jolted in the older man’s arms, his moans jumping in pitch until Burnie pulled back his foreskin and massaged the head. He arched so deliciously into the king who was damn near ready to burst at the sight.

Overwhelmed with desire, the older man grabbed the plug he needed and, after coating it in oil, pushed the lad’s hands out of the way to insert it instead.

The groan Gavin released at the intrusion was too much and Burnie quickly spun him around before pinning him against the bedspread and taking both of their hard cocks in hand, stroking them to completion, the boy grasping at his king’s back wildly until he fell limp against the sheets, Burnie stroking his sweaty hair and placing breathless kisses against his face and neck.

There was a lovely little afterglow that, once Burnie had recovered from it, left them feeling warm and tingly as he carried the harlot to the baths and they settled together into the hot water.

It took awhile, Burnie casually rinsing his skin of sweat and oil, before Gavin spoke. He yawned, dazed and content, “Did I do good?”

“You did excellent.” the king praised, causing the corners of the lad’s mouth to quirk in a bashful smile.

He hid his face in the older man’s shoulder and stretched leisurely, “What are we gonna do tomorrow?”

Burnie was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath and held it, then released it all at once, “I think it’s time to graduate you from training. What do you think?”

That seemed to snap the lad out of his daze, “Y-you mean you want to…?”

“It’s been almost a month of training. You’ve been doing really well. I think you’re ready.”

There was more silence as the boy gaped like a fish. Then, “W-what if I’m not ready?”

The king gave him a slightly miffed look, “Gavin, we can’t keep putting this off. I’ve gone slow like you asked but we can’t keep swimming in the same circle. We need to progress y’know?”

Gavin swallowed and closed his eyes, “I know, but-”

“Gav.”

The harlot looked up to see that seriousness had fallen onto the older man’s face. He knew what it meant and he was scared, sure, but the excitement bubbling up inside of him was enough to curb his fear into something more pleasant- anticipation.

He remained silent as Burnie lifted them from the tub and dried them off before helping him into his wispy night pants. He could feel the older man’s stare on him before he heard him sigh and felt lips pressed to his forehead.

“I’ll come for you tomorrow.” The king said and walked into his own chambers, leaving the harlot alone in the harem chamber.

 


End file.
